April 14, 2008

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How Iraq spawned wider terrorist chaos

April 14, 2008 in Featured by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Salon News.)

On the outskirts of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, the jagged ruins of Nahr el-Bared rise over the Mediterranean Sea. Once one of Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camps and an urban center of more than 30,000 people, Nahr el-Bared today recalls images of Berlin or Dresden from 1945 — its buildings blasted to rubble from endless mortar and machine-gun fire and its main thoroughfare reduced to a graveyard of hollowed-out foundations and burnt wreckage. Since its founding 60 years ago in the aftermath of the first Arab-Israeli war, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled the nascent state of Israel to neighboring countries, Nahr el-Bared had grown into a modest-size city that boasted one of northern Lebanon’s most popular markets. Today, its muddy roads are choked with the skeletons of automobiles, its few scattered residents living in ramshackle garages and shanties, or in the crumbling debris of what were once apartment buildings lining its streets.

Nahr el-Bared’s destruction owes much to the spread of militant jihad to and from U.S.-occupied Iraq.

Back in early 2005, Porter Goss, then head of the CIA, warned Congress that the war would spawn a new breed of Islamic militants who would “leave Iraq experienced in and focused on acts of urban terrorism.” Middle East experts have long warned that U.S. actions in Iraq would stir up a deadly hornets’ nest, with consequences potentially spreading throughout the region. On a trip into ravaged Nahr el-Bared this January, what I saw and heard there confirmed those dark predictions.

Full story here.

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First Question for Clinton: Be Aggressive or Lay Off?

April 14, 2008 in Featured by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via New York Times.)

The long-running series of Democratic presidential debates resumes this week after an extended hiatus. The big question is how bitter the next chapter will be.

The two dozen televised showdowns have always given a distorted glimpse of the nomination fight, which plays out in state after state on much less visible levels. But the debates offer the clearest national focus, and that means Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton must make a decision: mount a feisty new assault on Senator Barack Obama, or present a more congenial face to the public.

Mrs. Clinton has adopted both approaches at different points in the campaign, and she could justify using either when she faces off with Mr. Obama in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, six days before the Pennsylvania primary. Even her aides made clear this weekend that they did not yet know which path she would choose.

Since Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama last debated, in Cleveland on Feb. 26, she has made little discernable progress toward her goal of scoring a come-from-behind victory in the nominating contest. She won the Texas and Ohio primaries, but has fallen farther behind in the delegate race; she trailed by 97 delegates the day of the Cleveland debate, and 140 now, by the Obama campaign’s count. And she has failed to overtake Mr. Obama in most national polls, despite a brief furor over incendiary remarks by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

As a result, Mrs. Clinton finds herself like a basketball team trailing at game’s end and having to watch precious seconds tick off the clock. That leaves some Democratic observers predicting a serene and civil performance on her part, rather than the combative approach advocated by her chief strategist, Mark Penn, before he was ousted from that post a week ago.

Full story here.

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Is the FISA fight over?

April 14, 2008 in National Security, Republicans by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Crooks and Liars.)

Much to everyone’s surprise, House Democrats simply wouldn’t budge when the Bush administration demanded that Congress pass a permanent “Protect America Act” — with retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. The law expired, the president threw a fit, and lawmakers broke for a two-week spring recess.

Despite claims that congressional inaction was responsible for increased threats against Americans, and despite demands that the president would never accept a compromise on surveillance power and telecom immunity, the White House indicated recently that the Bush gang might be willing to chat with Democratic leaders after all.

Just a few days ago, The Hill reported that House Republicans, who had been shouting that the sky was falling as a result of the PAA’s expiration, have apparently decided to accept the status quo and turn their attention elsewhere.

House Republicans are poised to shift their focus from national security to the economy, hoping to rally opposition to what they claim are Democratic plans to raise taxes amid the economic downturn.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is expected to announce Thursday that the House GOP floor emphasis will transition away from passing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and earmark reform to “stop the tax hike.”

Given this, it’s worth pausing to wonder if House Dems just won the FISA/immunity fight. Glenn Greenwald makes the case that Republicans failed on this one.

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Governor’s legal fight fuels the turmoil in Puerto Rico

April 14, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Detroit Free Press.)

Puerto Rico Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá tried to make his stroll through Old San Juan for an afternoon cup of coffee look casual, but the reporters and photographers following him gave it away: The U.S. commonwealth is in a political tailspin.
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A recent 27-count indictment of Acevedo and 12 allies capped three years of political turmoil, further dividing an already fractious political scene. It put the last year of Acevedo’s term in doubt, and raised questions about whether the superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention — who is a Barack Obama supporter — can be a viable candidate in November’s race for governor.

For now, the leadership of Acevedo’s Popular Democratic Party is standing behind him — and even announced a legal defense fund they hope will reach $2 million. Already, some are griping that Acevedo can’t possibly win the election. And although he said he would return to work as governor and candidate, Acevedo also suggested he would do whatever it takes for his party to win — including step aside.

For now he is back at work, announcing new infrastructure projects and meeting with the chief of police.

Full story here.

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No ‘bitter’ aftertaste? How Obama gaffe plays

April 14, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via USATODAY.com.)

Phil Little seems like just the sort of Pennsylvanian voter who might have been offended by Sen. Barack Obama’s comments that small-town residents “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion.”

“We believe in God, and I own a couple of guns,” said the retired Little, wearing a camouflage Field & Stream cap and waiting with his wife in their SUV to watch their granddaughter’s softball practice.

Little says he switched his party registration from Republican to Democrat so he could back Obama in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary on April 22. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s criticisms Sunday that Obama’s comments were “elitist and divisive” haven’t moved him.

“I don’t think he put his brain in gear before he engaged his mouth,” Little said. “But he apologized. … I think he has the right ideas, and I like hearing him talk. I put him in sort of the same mold as the Kennedys, JFK and Bobby.”

Full story here.

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Democrats: McCain Financing Questionable

April 14, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Republicans by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via The Associated Press.)

Democratic Party officials want a federal judge to order an investigation into whether Sen. John McCain violated election laws by withdrawing from public financing, saying federal regulators are too weak to act on their own.

A lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, to be filed Monday in U.S. District Court, questions the agency’s ability to enforce the law and review McCain’s decision to opt out of the system. The Republican presidential candidate, who had been entitled to $5.8 million in federal funds for the primary campaign, decided earlier this year to give up that money so he could avoid strict spending limits between now and the GOP’s national convention in September.

During a conference call with reporters Sunday, DNC officials said the FEC is unable to act because four of its six seats are vacant. They want a judge to either order the FEC to begin an immediate review, or allow the Democratic Party to file a lawsuit against McCain’s campaign challenging his decision.

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Obama, Clinton and Small Towns

April 14, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Political Insider.)

It’s impossible to predict exactly how Sen. Barack Obama’s ill-timed comments about “bitter voters” in Pennsylvania and the Midwest will ultimately play out in the Democratic presidential race. The comments certainly make Obama seem elitist and distant from the daily concerns of stereotypical Midwesterners. And Sen. Hillary Clinton correctly points out that both Al Gore and Sen. John Kerry lost the last two presidential races because they were “out of touch” with concerns of “regular” voters. Undecided Democratic superdelegates must be very worried.

But Obama does have one thing going for him as he tries to weather the controversy: Clinton connects no better with your average small town, rural voter than he does. She looks absolutely ridiculous trying to become the church-going, gun-toting candidate before crucial primaries in Pennsylvania and Indiana. If she continues to push this line of attack, it’s more likely to backfire than succeed.

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For it, Before She Was Against It

April 14, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Talking Points Memo.)

I wonder if she realizes that gaining a few days of lurid publicity that might reach a slice of voters is going to cost her a great deal in the regard of many Democrats, whose strong support she will need if she somehow claws her way to the nomination — and even more so if she does not clinch the nomination. The distribution of “we’re not bitter” stickers to her campaign rallies is the height of over-the-top crudity, and the reports are that very few audience members seem to have much enthusiasm for this nonsense. Not surprisingly, people cannot see the reasons for so much fuss.

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Video of the Day: 04-08-14

April 14, 2008 in Video by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

Democratic rivals discuss God at faith forum

April 14, 2008 in Featured by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via msnbc.com.)

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that the potential for life begins at conception as she and presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama answered questions about faith and religion in both their personal lives and the public discourse.

In a forum devoted to an issue rare on the campaign trail, the two White House hopefuls talked about the presence of God in their lives and how often they read the Bible as well as divisive issues such as abortion, abstinence and human rights within the context of faith.

The two are reaching out to people of faith in Pennsylvania, which holds its primary on April 22. GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain did not participate.

Quizzed on when life begins

Clinton was asked whether life begins at conception — which opponents of abortion contend is a reality that makes any termination of a pregnancy the ending of a life.

“I believe the potential for life begins at conception,” Clinton said. “For me, it is also not only about a potential life. It is about the other lives involved. … I have concluded, after great, you know, concern and searching my own mind and heart over many years, … that individuals must be entrusted to make this profound decision, because the alternative would be such an intrusion of government authority that it would be very difficult to sustain in our kind of open society.”

The New York senator added that abortion should remain legal, safe and rare.

The two candidates appeared separately at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pa., and briefly met as Clinton left the stage and Obama took her place. The moment of pleasantries and handshakes belied days of angry accusations between the two over Obama’s comments about bitter voters in small towns.

Asked whether life begins at conception, Obama said he didn’t know the answer.

“This is something that I have not, I think, come to a firm resolution on. I think it’s very hard to know what that means, when life begins. Is it when a cell separates? Is it when the soul stirs? … What I know, as I’ve said before, is that there is something extraordinarily powerful about potential life and that that has a moral weight to it that we take into consideration when we’re having these debates.”

Full story here.

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