"Operation Iraqi Infoganda"
"Bush, Clarke and A Shred of Doubt"
Good editorial piece on the Bush administration's recent response to the accusations of Richard Clarke, former head of counterterrorism in the Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II administrations.
While I've wondered why Clarke has waited so long to come forward with his claims, he seems to have too much credibility for simple political or economic gain as the explanation. Perhaps he wanted to first make sure Iraq was in fact WMD free before blaming the Bush administration's on its incessant focus....
Excerpt:
The White House has opened its guns on Clarke. He is being contradicted and soon, as with poor [Treasury secretary] O'Neill, his sanity and probity will be questioned. It's getting to be downright amazing how former White House aides tell the same tale -- a case, the White House wants us to believe, of hysteria or unaccountable betrayal. I'd like to believe my president, but as Clarke quotes him in a different context, "I'm looking for any shred."
While I've wondered why Clarke has waited so long to come forward with his claims, he seems to have too much credibility for simple political or economic gain as the explanation. Perhaps he wanted to first make sure Iraq was in fact WMD free before blaming the Bush administration's on its incessant focus....
Excerpt:
The White House has opened its guns on Clarke. He is being contradicted and soon, as with poor [Treasury secretary] O'Neill, his sanity and probity will be questioned. It's getting to be downright amazing how former White House aides tell the same tale -- a case, the White House wants us to believe, of hysteria or unaccountable betrayal. I'd like to believe my president, but as Clarke quotes him in a different context, "I'm looking for any shred."
"Regime change scorecard - Bush 2 1/2, Osama 1"
"Avoiding attacking suspected terrorist mastermind"
Article from about two weeks ago, but still quite interesting. It argues the Bush administration was presented a clear opportunity in 2002 to strike at Abu Musab Zarqawi—the militant linked to al-Qaida and suspected mastermind of much of the recent violence in Iraq—but didn't for concern over how it might affect its case for going to war in Iraq. While there is no guarantee an earlier attack would have succeeded, if true, this is still quite upsetting.
Excerpts:
In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide.
The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council. ...
Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.
The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone.
Excerpts:
In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq, producing deadly ricin and cyanide.
The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council. ...
Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.
The United States did attack the camp at Kirma at the beginning of the war, but it was too late — Zarqawi and many of his followers were gone.
"Intruders in the House of Saud, Part II: A Nation Unto Himself"
Very good article on an interesting and complex subject: suing alleged financiers of the September 11th attacks. Approaches the issue from many perspectives.
Among the case's 205 defendants are seven Saudi charities, including the largest in the Muslim world; three Saudi financial institutions, including one that is now state-run; dozens of prominent Saudi individuals; and perhaps most audaciously, several members of the royal family, for whom Motley has a rich assortment of epithets.
Among the case's 205 defendants are seven Saudi charities, including the largest in the Muslim world; three Saudi financial institutions, including one that is now state-run; dozens of prominent Saudi individuals; and perhaps most audaciously, several members of the royal family, for whom Motley has a rich assortment of epithets.
"China's Economic Engine Needs Power (Lots of It)"
Good article. In particular, I like this quote:
"The fundamental problem is that China is following the path of the United States, and probably the world cannot afford a second United States," said Zhang Jianyu, program manager for the Beijing office of Environmental Defense, an American-based advocacy group.
"The fundamental problem is that China is following the path of the United States, and probably the world cannot afford a second United States," said Zhang Jianyu, program manager for the Beijing office of Environmental Defense, an American-based advocacy group.
