Archive for the 'War' Category

Iraqi Government Confirms Preference For 2010 Withdrawal

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Barack, Foreign Policy, Iraq, McCain, Video, War

And this time, just so there’s no confusion, they say it in English. So…is this definitive enough for all of you who’ve been doubting that Maliki meant sooner rather than later? Is the word “timetable” specific enough? Meanwhile, Obama is talking about a timetable that specifically states we would get out by 2010, and McCain [...]

July 21st, 2008 | Permalink| 7 Comments »

McCain Responds To Maliki’s Withdrawal Talk

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Foreign Policy, Iraq, McCain, War

Okay, now we have an official statement… “Let’s be clear, the only reason that the conversation about reducing troop levels in Iraq is happening is because John McCain challenged the failed Rumsfield-strategy in Iraq and argued for the surge strategy that is responsible for the successes we’ve achieved and which Barack Obama opposed. Unlike Barack [...]

July 19th, 2008 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Why Maliki’s Endorsement Of Obama’s Timetable Is So Significant

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Barack, Foreign Policy, Iraq, McCain, War

I just posted about the new “time horizon” that the US and Iraq have agreed to, and in that post I mentioned that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki endorsed Obama’s 16 month timetable, calling it “closer to reality.” Also, take note of the following statement from Maliki… “The Americans have found it difficult to agree [...]

July 19th, 2008 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

And Now…A “Time Horizon” For Withdrawal In Iraq

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Barack, Bush, Foreign Policy, Iraq, McCain, War

Is a time horizon a timeline? Well, not really. But a time horizon is what comes right before a timeline is set. So what the news finally represents is an acknowledgement that, at some point in the future, the US will have to leave. From NY Times: The agreement, announced in coordinated statements released Friday [...]

July 19th, 2008 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

Redefining War Powers

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Congress, War

A bipartisan study group tasked with considering changes to the way congress approves wars, is recommending increased congressional responsibility. The group, co-chaired by former secretaries of state James Baker III and Warren Christopher, are proposing “legislation that would require the president to consult lawmakers before initiating combat lasting longer than a week, except in cases [...]

July 8th, 2008 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

John McCain’s Swift Boater Needs To Go

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, History, McCain, Military, War

Okay, I’ve finally heard some of things that Bud Day said on the conference call, and McCain better get rid of this guy or he has no right getting upset about what Clark said. In any event, Bud Day still claims that the Swift Boaters were okay because they were just pointing out “the truth.” [...]

June 30th, 2008 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Wesley Clark, Please Remove Foot From Mouth

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Democrats, Dumb Things Said By Smart People, History, McCain, Military, War

As opposed to misinterpreting what McCain said about gas prices…this one is crystal clear… “I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.” As Ambinder notes, this one belongs in “The Better Left Unsaid Department…“

June 30th, 2008 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Guantanamo Decision Not “Worst in History”

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Constitution, Guantanamo Bay, Law, McCain, Supreme Court, Terrorism, The War On Terrorism, War

George Will takes issue with John McCain’s statement that the recent Supreme Court decision on Guantanamo detainees was one of the “worst decisions in history.” Will’s complaint is as much about McCain’s hyperbole as it is about McCain’s opposition to the ruling. As Will notes, this is not a clear-cut matter and people of good [...]

June 17th, 2008 | Permalink| No Comments »

McCain: SCOTUS Detainee Decision One Of The Worst In History

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Constitution, Guantanamo Bay, Law, McCain, The War On Terrorism, War

Can you tell it’s an election year? From Swampland comes this transcript of McCain’s statements during a town hall… The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country. Sen. Graham and Sen. Lieberman and I had worked very hard to [...]

June 13th, 2008 | Permalink| 11 Comments »

Supreme Court Rules Detainees Now Have Legal Rights

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Guantanamo Bay, Law, Supreme Court, Terrorism, The War On Terrorism, War

Big, big news. The Supreme Court restored habeas rights for enemy combatants, and thereby acknowledged that the “War on Terrorism” has no discernible end and so detainees should be able to challenge indefinite detention. More from AP: In its third rebuke of the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government [...]

June 12th, 2008 | Permalink| 8 Comments »

Finding Our Missing Billions In Iraq

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Bush, Cheney, Iraq, Military, Money, The World, War

Apparently, the BBC has been able to find where some of it went… The search for the missing billions also led the programme to a house in Acton in West London where Hazem Shalaan lived until he was appointed to the new Iraqi government as minister of defence in 2004. He and his associates siphoned [...]

June 10th, 2008 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

McCain Should Not Use Petraeus To Raise Money

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Bad Decisions, Iraq, McCain, Military, Money, War

First this… Obviously this is a really bad call on McCain’s part, especially since the Joint Chiefs have recently said, very explicitly, that members of the military should not be involved with these political campaigns… WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has written an unusual open letter to all those in [...]

May 30th, 2008 | Permalink| 6 Comments »

Former Bush Press Secretary’s Scathing Tell-All Revealed

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Books, Bush, History, Iraq, Republicans, The Plame Game, The War On Terrorism, The World, War

After the administration threw Scott McClellan under the bus in the Plame affair, you knew this had to be coming. But most revealing is his inside info about the Iraq war. Politico details some of his assertions: • McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war. • He says the White House [...]

May 27th, 2008 | Permalink| 6 Comments »

Gen. David Petraeus: Appeaser?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Bush, Iran, Iraq, Military, Terrorism, The World, War

He apparently thinks diplomacy with Iran is the best option, and as the following suggests, he’s right in line with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. From Wash Post: Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, President Bush’s nominee to lead U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, supports continued U.S. engagement with international and regional partners [...]

May 22nd, 2008 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

Bush Plans To Attack Iran Before He Leaves?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Bush, Democrats, Iran, Military, Republicans, The World, War

That’s the report from the Jerusalem media, but the administration is saying it’s false. Who’s telling the truth? The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not [...]

May 20th, 2008 | Permalink| 8 Comments »

Obama And McCain Square Off On Foreign Policy

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Democrats, Foreign Policy, McCain, Republicans, Terrorism, Video, War

TPM has the comparison… It’s definitely encouraging to think we’re going to have a genuine policy debate this fall about how we conduct our foreign policy. So then…is Obama naive to think he can talk with our enemies or is McCain naive to think we shouldn’t given that our current foreign policy stance has resulted [...]

May 19th, 2008 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

Who Won The Foreign Policy Debate This Week?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Bush, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Iran, McCain, Republicans, The War On Terrorism, Video, War

Obama or McCain? The Meet The Press roundtable tackles the subject, and while nobody breaks from their partisan affiliations, it’s a good talk. Do note that Huckabee said Iran is indeed more dangerous, but he just doesn’t think it’s really Bush’s fault. Well, whose fault is it when we’re discussing American foreign policy? The Democrats? [...]

May 18th, 2008 | Permalink| No Comments »

Obama Unwraps Bush’s Gift

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Bush, Democrats, Foreign Policy, History, Iran, Israel, McCain, Republicans, Terrorism, The War On Terrorism, War

And something tells me that this will be one of those gifts that’ll keep on giving…

May 16th, 2008 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

Bush’s Gift To Obama?

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Bush, History, Iran, Israel, McCain, Terrorism, War

Chuck Todd explains why the Obama camp is cheering today… When President Bush — thousands of miles away in Israel — decided to fire his thinly veiled shot at Obama yesterday, it was a giant gift to the Illinois senator and his campaign. Why? One, it essentially kept Clinton on the sidelines just two days [...]

May 16th, 2008 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

Lieberman Backs Bush’s “Appeasement” Statements

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Bush, Iran, Iraq, Lieberman, McCain, Republicans, Terrorism, The War On Terrorism, The World, War

Here’s the transcript from MSNBC via ThinkProgress: “President Bush got it exactly right today when he warned about the threat of Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah. It is imperative that we reject the flawed and naïve thinking that denies or dismisses the words of extremists and terrorists when they shout “Death [...]

May 15th, 2008 | Permalink| 8 Comments »