Philadelphia Inquirer: Getting Out of Iraq

July 15, 2007
Philadelphia Inquirer: Getting Out of Iraq

President Bush must be living in a time warp, judging by his remarks last week. It's a lovely thought on which he dwells: Decency and democracy should triumph over terrorism and tyrants. Should, but may not if you make too many mistakes.

And his team has made plenty in Iraq - from too few boots on the ground, to the lack of post-war planning, to dismissing the importance of understanding Iraqi people and cultures.

He cannot endlessly leave American soldiers to die fighting for impossible objectives. If he cannot admit that, Congress must force him to face reality.

Marine ordered Iraqi women and kids shot

July 18, 2007
Marine ordered Iraqi women and kids shot

CAMP PENDLETON, California: A Marine charged with murdering two girls and killing several other Iraqis gave orders to shoot into a roomful of children and young women, a squad member testified.

Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum then went into the room himself, followed by loud noise that could have been M-16 gunfire or a grenade, said Lance Cpl. Humberto Manuel Mendoza.

"I told him there's just womens and kids in the room," Mendoza said Tuesday. "He replied, 'Well, shoot them.'"

Cheney pushes Bush to bomb Iran

July 16, 2007
Cheney pushes Bush to bomb Iran

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo."

6 Years After 9/11, the Same Threat

July 18, 2007
6 Years After 9/11, the Same Threat

WASHINGTON, July 17 — Nearly six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives expended in the name of the war on terror pose a single, insistent question: Are we safer?

On Tuesday, in a dark and strikingly candid two pages, the nation's intelligence agencies offered an implicit answer, and it was not encouraging. In many respects, the National Intelligence Estimate suggests, the threat of terrorist violence against the United States is growing worse, fueled by the Iraq war and spreading Islamic extremism.

Bush Aides See Failure in Fight With Al Qaeda in Pakistan

July 18, 2007
Bush Aides See Failure in Fight With Al Qaeda in Pakistan

WASHINGTON, July 17 — President Bush's top counterterrorism advisers acknowledged Tuesday that the strategy for fighting Osama bin Laden's leadership of Al Qaeda in Pakistan had failed, as the White House released a grim new intelligence assessment that has forced the administration to consider more aggressive measures inside Pakistan.

The intelligence report, the most formal assessment since the Sept. 11 attacks about the terrorist threat facing the United States, concludes that the United States is losing ground on a number of fronts in the fight against Al Qaeda, and describes the terrorist organization as having significantly strengthened over the past two years.

Seattle Times: Leave Iraq

July 17, 2007
Seattle Times: Leave Iraq

There is no good time to walk away from a war that has spurred hideous violence and bloodshed in a country the U.S. is supposedly helping. There is no good time.

U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe, Richard Lugar and Pete Domenici, Republicans from Maine, Indiana and New Mexico, respectively, have changed their minds. They don't want to sit idly by while Bush heads down to the ranch for August R&R and Iraq spins further out of control.

The July report on progress in Iraq offers few reasons to wait until September.

Pentagon approves disputed Iraq costs

July 17, 2007
Pentagon approves disputed Iraq costs

Through last October, almost two-thirds of costs challenged by Pentagon auditors as inflated, erroneous or otherwise improper — more than $1 billion — were eventually approved by project managers. That compares with 44% for all defense contracts in 2005.

The low rate of withholding payments to Iraq contractors is evidence the Pentagon is turning a blind eye to waste and fraud, says Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has chaired several hearings into Iraq reconstruction problems for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

Food and Drug Administration a "sorry mess"

July 17, 2007
Food and Drug Administration a "sorry mess"

In the wake of reports of contaminated food not only from China but also from domestic processors, the FDA's approach of relying on voluntary compliance "appears inadequate in responding to the changing food industry," said David Nelson, a senior investigator for the committee.

"FDA's ill-conceived decision to close seven of its 13 laboratories likely would expose American consumers to even more danger from unsafe foods, particularly imports," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the oversight subcommittee.

Criticism of the FDA was bipartisan. "The FDA must enter the 21st century," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground

July 18, 2007
Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground

A new National Intelligence Estimate concludes that al-Qaeda "has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability" by reestablishing a haven in Pakistan and reconstituting its top leadership. The report also notes that al-Qaeda has been able "to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attacks," by associating itself with an Iraqi subsidiary.

Although only a portion of the instability in Iraq is attributed to al-Qaeda and the group had no substantial power base there before the U.S. invasion, Bush again cast the war as a battle against its members, whom his aides have described as key provocateurs there.

Mass Graves Dug to Deal With Death Toll

July 16, 2007
Mass Graves Dug to Deal With Death Toll

BAQUBA, Jul 17 (IPS) - The largest morgue in Diyala province is overflowing daily. Officials told IPS they have had to dig mass graves to dispose of bodies.

"The morgue receives an average of four or five bodies everyday," Nima Jima'a, a morgue official, told IPS. "Many more are dropped in rivers and farms -- or it is sometimes the case they are buried by their killers for other reasons. The number we record here is only a fraction of those killed."

Ambulances, now able to move again after weeks of restrictions, have been removing bodies of victims from the current fighting. But they have also found skulls and bones, evidence of other killings long ago.

Army's middle ranks are dwindling

July 16, 2007
Army's middle ranks are dwindling

More than five years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have put the all-volunteer Army under tremendous strain. Time at home is supposed to be longer than time at war — two years to one. Instead, deployments are longer than respites — 15 months versus a year. And there is little or no R&R in combat.

By giving soldiers incentives to stay, the Army has met and even exceeded retention goals. Housing and family services have been improved. Signing bonuses have soared.

Rigby and other military experts recall the aftermath of Vietnam, when the NCO corps was drastically reduced by combat deaths and permanent injury.

"That significantly contributed to the downfall or the hollowness of the Army in the post-Vietnam era. If you don't have a strong NCO corps, you don't have a strong Army," said Timothy Muchmore, a former soldier who is now the civilian deputy director of the Army's Quadrennial Defense Review, a comprehensive examination of national defense strategy, plans and programs.

Cheney's Actions Put Impeachment on the Table

July 13, 2007
Cheney's Actions Put Impeachment on the Table

Congressman Bob Filner, the chair of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, added his name, along with another veteran Democratic representative from California, Sam Farr.

The additional cosponsorships from Washington Democrat Jim McDermott, a Vietnam-era veteran who has been one of the House's sharpest critics of the war in Iraq, and Virginia Democrat James Moran bring the number of supporters for the articles to 14, including sponsor Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.

But at the heart of the growing enthusiasm for putting the process in motion is a sense that Congress can no longer neglect abuses of power by a lawless executive branch.

"The Founders intended impeachment to be used when those running the government forgot that they worked for the people, and the Founders intended impeachment to be used when those running the government acted as though they were above the law," explains Congressman McDermott, who argues that, "The vice president holds himself above the law, and it is time for the Congress to enforce the law."

Pittsburgh Newspaper Calls for Withdrawal -- Questions Bush's 'Mental Stability'

July 16, 2007
Pittsburgh Newspaper Calls for Withdrawal -- Questions Bush's 'Mental Stability'

NEW YORK The Pittsburgh newspaper owned by conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife yesterday called the Bush administration's plans to stay the course in Iraq a "prescription for American suicide."

The editorial in the Tribune-Review added, "And quite frankly, during last Thursday's news conference, when George Bush started blathering about 'sometimes the decisions you make and the consequences don't enable you to be loved,' we had to question his mental stability."

44 Former State's Attorney's Ask Congress to Investigate Political Prosecution

July 16, 2007
44 Former State's Attorney's Ask Congress to Investigate Political Prosecution

(AP) Forty-four former state attorneys general have asked Congress to investigate whether politics at the Justice Department influenced the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on corruption charges.

Last month, a Republican lawyer who worked on the campaign of Siegelman's opponent in 2006 signed a sworn affidavit saying that she overheard conversations among GOP operatives suggesting that the White House was involved in Siegelman's prosecution.

The group includes Democrats and Republicans and is led by Jeff Modisett, an Indiana Democrat, Bob Abrams, a New York Democrat, Bob Stefan, a Kansas Republican, and Grant Woods, an Arizona Republican.

20.5M decisions to classify documents

July 16, 2007
20.5M decisions to classify documents

WASHINGTON -- There were 20.5 million decisions to classify government secrets last year, and a report to the president found serious shortcomings in the process.

The Information Security Oversight Office said more than 1 in 10 documents it reviewed lacked a basis for classification, "calling into question the propriety" of the decisions to place them off limits to public disclosure.

The report comes as the office of Vice President Dick Cheney is refusing to cooperate with the office of the National Archives. The report noted that Cheney's office "did not report data to ISOO this year."

Sen. Voinovich: 'White House "f—ed up" the war'

July 16, 2007
Sen. Voinovich: 'White House "f—ed up" the war'

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A Republican senator says he warned top White House aide Karl Rove that President Bush quickly needs to craft a workable plan to withdraw U.S. troops fom Iraq in order to salvage his legacy.

"I won't mention anyone's name. But I have every reason to believe that the fur is going to start to fly, perhaps sooner than what they may have wanted."

In private, Voinovich is more blunt, using a profanity to describe the White House's handling of Iraq by charging the administration "f—ed up" the war.

Why Bush Will Be A Winner

July 16, 2007
Why Bush Will Be A Winner

I suppose I'll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush's presidency will probably be a successful one.

The economy first: After the bursting of the dot-com bubble, followed by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we've had more than five years of steady growth, low unemployment and a stock market recovery. Did this just happen? No. Bush pushed through the tax cuts of 2001 and especially 2003 by arguing that they would produce growth. His opponents predicted dire consequences. But the president was overwhelmingly right. Even the budget deficit, the most universally criticized consequence of the tax cuts, is coming down and is lower than it was when the 2003 supply-side tax cuts were passed.

How Bush Uses His Generals

July 16, 2007
How Bush Uses His Generals

President Bush says that he should be trusted on military issues because he listens to his commanders. But he has a tendency to celebrate his generals when they're providing him political cover -- then stick a knife in their backs when they're no longer of any use to him.

Last week, Bush rejected any blame for the chaos that ensued in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion. So whose fault was it? Bush pointed the finger at Gen. Tommy Franks, the Central Command chief at the time. "My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes," Bush said.

Harriet Miers's Contempt of Congress

July 13, 2007
Harriet Miers's Contempt of Congress

As a result of Miers's "no show," the full House Judiciary Committee will no doubt support the subcommittee, and vote to deem Miers in contempt. One can only hope - but probably this hope is in vain -- that Republicans may realize this is not a partisan issue, but an institutional matter, and thus will either abstain or vote to support the dignity of the committee on which they serve. Republicans should remember that they will one day be back in control, and may then be confronted by a Democratic president defying their subpoenas - and relying on this very precedent to do so. Realistically, however, there is zero chance that Republicans will place their constitutional interest ahead of their partisan interests.

July 12, 2007

Barbara Boxer says Impeachment should be on the table

BOXER: Yeah. I mean, you left out a bunch of things — spying on citizens without a warrant, going around FISA, on and on. Look, I have always said it should be on the table. Ed, I've always said it. I was on a book tour and I ran into John Dean of Watergate fame. He was on the book tour that I was on, for his book. And it was right after we discovered that the administration was spying on our people without a warrant. And he just said, he looked at me and basically just said, as far as he could see, unless there was some explanation for this, this was impeachable.

Bill Moyers Puts Impeachment On the Media Table

July 16, 2007
Bill Moyers Puts Impeachment On the Media Table

Fein for his part noted that most of Bush's and Cheney's abuses of power and violations of the Constitution and the rule of law have been done not openly and in consultation with Congress, but in secret and in the dark of night. His secret monitoring of American's communications-phones, mail and internet for example-went on for four years before it was exposed in an article in the New York Times. And the president has still not explained to anyone why he felt the need to break the law.

Fein and Nichols both blasted the current Democratic leadership of Congress for cowardice, lack of principle, and a basic failure to honor their oaths of office to uphold and defend the Constitution, in refusing to impeach the president. Fein said that in earlier administrations, there were always at least a few members of Congress who were honorable enough to put country and the Constitution above party. "We don't have anyone like that in Congress now," he said.

Most foreign insurgents in Iraq are Saudis

July 15, 2007
Most foreign insurgents in Iraq are Saudis

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Most foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from Saudi Arabia, despite attempts by US officials to portray Syria and Iran as the main culprits of violence, a US newspaper reported Sunday.

Citing an unnamed senior US military officer and Iraqi lawmakers, the Los Angeles Times. newspaper said about 45 percent of all foreign militants targeting US troops and Iraqi security forces were from Saudi Arabia, 15 percent from Syria and Lebanon, and 10 percent from North Africa.

The senior US officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 50 percent of all Saudi fighters in Iraq come as suicide bombers, The Times pointed out.

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles

posted July 17, 2007
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles

MRAP vehicles exist today. Companies abroad and in the United States produce MRAP systems, and both Army and Marine Corps engineers are successfully exploiting this technology in Iraq and Afghanistan. MRAP-equipped units that before required dedicated infantry support to complete their mission would now be equipped with a survivable, offensive weapon system that would enable independent operations. MRAP vehicles are inherently offensive in character, built from the ground up to survive a combination of mines, RPGs and small arms fire, and would better support Marine concepts of Ship to Objective Maneuver and the emerging concept of distributed operations.

Pentagon Refused Requests For Safer Vehicles

July 17, 2007
Pentagon Refused Requests For Safer Vehicles

As early as December 2003, when the Marines requested their first 27 MRAPs for explosive disposal teams, Pentagon analysts sent detailed information about the superiority of the vehicles to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, e-mails obtained by USA TODAY show. Later pleas came from Iraq, where commanders saw that the approach the Joint Chiefs embraced— adding armor to the sides of Humvees, the standard vehicles in the war zone — did little to protect against blasts beneath the vehicles.

Despite the efforts, the general who chaired the Joint Chiefs until Oct. 1, 2005, says buying MRAPs "was not on the radar screen when I was chairman." Air Force general Richard Myers, now retired, says top military officials dealt with a number of vehicle issues, including armoring Humvees. The MRAP, however, was "not one of them." Something related to MRAPs "might have crossed my desk," Myers says, "but I don't recall it."

Why the issue never received more of a hearing from top officials early in the war remains a mystery, given the chorus of concern. One Pentagon analyst complained in an April 29, 2004, e-mail to colleagues, for instance, that it was "frustrating to see the pictures of burning Humvees while knowing that there are other vehicles out there that would provide more protection."

The analyst was referring to the MRAP, whose V-shaped hull puts the crew more than 3 feet off the ground and deflects explosions. It was designed to withstand the underbelly bombs that cripple the lower-riding Humvees. Pentagon officials, civilians and military alike, had been searching for technologies to guard against improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. The makeshift bombs are the No. 1 killer of U.S. forces.

House Intelligence Committee Entangled in Cunningham Bribery Scandal

July 16, 2007
House Intelligence Committee Entangled in Cunningham Bribery Scandal

When the committee's investigation was completed last year, the Republican-controlled panel would not release the results; now that the committee is controlled by Democrats, it still will not release the findings.

The report provides the most detailed account to date of how former CIA Executive Director Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, whose indictment on charges of defrauding the government was recently expanded, allegedly used committee connections to advance his career at the agency.

Overall, the document provides a penetrating look into how the committee itself became central to the scandal, describing an atmosphere in which senior aides were deeply troubled by Cunningham's actions but nevertheless complied with his requests out of fear.

But the report and committee members' ongoing disagreement over whether it should be released also reflect the political currents still swirling around the scandal.

For all its finger-pointing at staffers, the document fails to address whether other committee members were aware of Cunningham's abuses or were culpable. For instance, the report avoids any scrutiny of former Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), who was chairman of the panel when Cunningham's most egregious abuses occurred. Goss went on to serve as CIA director, from September 2004 to May 2006.

Halliburton Employee Guilty in Iraq Kickback Case

July 14, 2007
Halliburton Employee Guilty in Iraq Kickback Case

The employee, Roger A. Heaton, 58, of Houston, worked for the subsidiary, KBR, as part of a logistics contract. KBR, formerly known as Kellogg, Brown & Root, was a subsidiary of Halliburton until it became a separate entity earlier this year. The contract has so far paid the companies $20 billion to supply the military with food, fuel, housing and other necessities.

Mr. Heaton pleaded guilty in Federal District Court in the Central District of Illinois to awarding two major contracts in exchange for what was to have been over $200,000 in kickbacks, although it is unclear how much of the money he actually received.

$80 a barrel prediction as oil soars again

July 13, 2007
$80 a barrel prediction as oil soars again

The price of oil jumped to an 11-month high yesterday, moving even closer to record levels hit last summer as fears mounted over shortages in supply.

Speculation in the world's most actively traded commodity, rapidly rising demand and reports that production would slow over the next five years pushed Brent crude up to $77.07 briefly during early-afternoon trading, within $2 of the all-time high of $78.65 set last August.

Air Force Surge Underway

July 14, 2007
Air Force Surge Underway

Statistics tell the story: Air Force and Navy aircraft dropped 437 bombs and missiles in Iraq in the first six months of 2007, a fivefold increase over the 86 used in the first half of 2006, and three times more than in the second half of 2006, according to Air Force data. In June, bombs dropped at a rate of more than five a day.

As chronicled in the Air Force's daily summaries, more and more pilots are getting the "cleared hot" clearance for bombing runs, usually with 500-pound bombs. In recent Army operations north of Baghdad, for example, Air Force planes have struck "factories" for makeshift bombs, weapons caches uncovered by ground troops and, in one instance, "several houses insurgents were using as fire positions."

Iraq Body Count, a London-based, anti-war research group that monitors Iraqi war deaths, says the step-up in air attacks appears to have been accompanied by an increase in Iraqi civilian casualties from air strikes. Based on media reports, it counts a recent average of 50 such deaths per month.

Time is up for Bush in Iraq... even if he doesn't know it yet

July 15, 2007
Time is up for Bush in Iraq... even if he doesn't know it yet

WE HAVE reached, at long last, the beginning of the end in Iraq. President Bush is still suggesting that "staying the course" remains an option but he cuts an increasingly isolated, forlorn figure in Washington these days. Were Republican members of Congress to take their constituents' views into account, the majority of conservatives would be seeking a way to end the war now. It is just a matter of time before blood persuades them to reach that conclusion for themselves.

Electoral realities may force their hand. Thanks to gerrymandering and the financial advantages handed to incumbents, no fewer than 98% of sitting members of the House of Representatives are re-elected. It takes a political earthquake to change that, but Republicans worry, in private if not always yet in public, that such an earthquake is coming next November. The Senate offers no comfort either; 21 Republicans face re-election next year, compared with just 12 Democrats.

UK Sends Message to Bush

July 17, 2007
UK Sends Message to Bush

He told the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington that isolationism simply "does not work in an interdependent world", and that while a country's might was measured in the 20th century by what it could destroy, we were now in a different time, when strength should be measured by "what we can build together". Alexander subsequently talked of new alliances based on common values which "reach out to the world".

The message was clear: Bush's US neocon fantasy of a New American century, based on liberal interventionism and pre-emption linked to the spread of US-style democracy, was dead in the water and the new British prime minister wanted Bush to know Britain would be doing business differently from now on. Congress has been telling the White House something similar for months, and Alexander's tone wouldn't have come as a shock. In fact, it would have been interpreted as a show of solidarity by the Democrats and by some Republicans who have had enough of Bush's stance on Iraq and the Middle East.

More entering Army with criminal records

July 13, 2007
More entering Army with criminal records

WASHINGTON -- Nearly 12 percent of Army recruits who entered basic training this year needed a special waiver for those with criminal records, a dramatic increase over last year and 2 1/2 times the percentage four years ago, according to new Army statistics obtained by the Globe.

With less than three months left in the fiscal year, 11.6 percent of new active-duty and Army Reserve troops in 2007 have received a so-called "moral waiver," up from 7.9 percent in fiscal year 2006, according to figures from the US Army Recruiting Command. In fiscal 2003 and 2004, soldiers granted waivers accounted for 4.6 percent of new recruits; in 2005, it was 6.2 percent.

Iraqi lawmakers to take August break

July 13, 2007
Iraqi lawmakers to take August break

"My understanding is at this juncture they're going to take August off, but you know, they may change their minds," said spokesman Tony Snow, who refused to say whether there had been US efforts to dissuade them.

"You know, it's 130 degrees (54 Celsius) in Baghdad in August. I'll pass on your recommendation," he said when a reporter asked about the impact on an Iraq progress report due by September 15.

Reminded that the heat affected the roughly 160,000 US troops in Iraq, Snow replied: "You know, that's a good point. And it's 130 degrees for the Iraqi military."

White House Refuses To Give Congress Records on Tillman's Death

July 13, 2007
White House Refuses To Give Congress Records on Tillman's Death

House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Tom Davis, R-Va., the committee's top-ranking Republican, said Friday the documents were inadequate. They insisted that the Defense Department turn over the additional material by July 25 and asked that the White House do likewise.

Although Pentagon investigators determined quickly that he was killed by his own troops, five weeks passed before the circumstances of his death were made public. During that time, the Army claimed he was killed by enemy fire.

Minneapolis Tribune: "end the war"

July 15, 2007
Minneapolis Tribune: "end the war"

President Bush, having dispatched top officials to Capitol Hill to shore up support on Iraq, saw defections occurring instead and ended up in a high-stakes power showdown on Thursday. After lecturing Congress on its role (consultation, by his lights), he emphasized his power as chief decider. But it's way past time for all that. Members of Congress must counter his stance with a strong new, and newly bipartisan, effort to responsibly end this war.

Perhaps strangest -- if he truly believes what he said -- were the president's repetitive attempts Thursday to portray the struggle in Iraq as principally a fight against Al-Qaida. This is getting old, and it suggests acute persuasion desperation. We all know that Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia is one of the extremist elements in Iraq, that it is responsible for a high percentage of suicide attacks there. But it is neither the principal problem in Iraq nor connected to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, as he continues to imply. In fact, it didn't exist then, and has enlisted support largely because of the U.S. occupation.

Since Bush is having his logic all ways and clearly is in denial about the state of affairs in Iraq, senior members of Congress -- despite Bush's implication that they are overstepping their authority -- must get beyond their party interests and/or 2008 campaign maneuvering and craft a firm, joint message to Bush.

The Iraq Debate That Wasn't

July 13, 2007
The Iraq Debate That Wasn't

One way or another, something along the lines the President is describing will likely occur in 2008, if not sooner. And then, regardless of the situation on the ground, Bush will say he moved the right number of troops at the right time. The Democrats will say they forced him to do so, and will find new ways to keep the mess in Iraq front and center in the national debate - without necessarily pushing to bring all the troops home right away. If you're looking for someone who will lead a speedy withdrawal from Iraq, you'll have to go to the extreme left or right of the parties. Nobody in the mainstream is looking to get out soon.

Marine: Beating of Iraqis became routine

July 15, 2007
Marine: Beating of Iraqis became routine

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A Marine corporal testifying in a court-martial said Marines in his unit began routinely beating Iraqis after officers ordered them to "crank up the violence level."

Cpl. Saul H. Lopezromo testified Saturday at the murder trial of Cpl. Trent D. Thomas.

"We were told to crank up the violence level," said Lopezromo, testifying for the defense.

When a juror asked for further explanation, Lopezromo said: "We beat people, sir."

He said Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency.

Poll: 68% say surge has failed

July 14, 2007
Poll: 68% say surge has failed

Nearly two thirds of Americans believe that the president's troop "surge" has been a failure, poll respondents said. The survey also found broad public support for cutting the number of troops deployed on the battlefield. But in a bright spot for the president, less than 20 percent favored immediate withdrawal.

Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling the war in Iraq. Public approval of the president's handling of Iraq has remained below the 30 percent mark since January, when he announced his plans to increase the number of troops deployed there. (The public's approval of Bush's overall handling of the war has been below the 50 percent mark since February of 2004).

Still, Americans remain cautious about the prospect of a hasty withdrawal from Iraq, afraid it would leave the country in chaos. Out of four possible options in the poll, 19 percent of the respondents chose immediate total withdrawal. Slightly fewer (13 percent) don't want any cutbacks at all. Nearly a quarter of all Americans (24 percent) would implement a gradual withdrawal plan that would start in the fall and extend until the spring, when the last troops would come home. Forty percent favor keeping a substantial number of troops on the ground there, but only on the condition that they fall back to their bases and focus solely on training Iraqis and targeting Al Qaeda. And yet a majority (53 percent) want troops to remain for no more than a year. Only 19 percent could embrace the idea of maintaining a military presence in Iraq for up to two years, even at a reduced number.

In Intelligence World, A Mute Watchdog

July 15, 2007
In Intelligence World, A Mute Watchdog

The President's Intelligence Oversight Board -- the principal civilian watchdog of the intelligence community -- is obligated under a 26-year-old executive order to tell the attorney general and the president about any intelligence activities it believes "may be unlawful." The board was vacant for the first two years of the Bush administration.

The FBI sent copies of its violation reports directly to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. But the board's mandate is to provide independent oversight, so the absence of such communications has prompted critics to question whether the board was doing its job.

"It's now apparent that the IOB was not actively employed in the early part of the administration. And it was a crucial period when its counsel would seem to have been needed the most," said Anthony Harrington, who served as the board's chairman for most of the Clinton administration.

The board now in place is led by former Bush economic adviser Stephen Friedman. It includes Don Evans, a friend of the president and a former commerce secretary; former Adm. David Jeremiah; and lawyer Arthur B. Culvahouse.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan banned from Democratic blog

July 13, 2007
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan banned from Democratic blog

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is being kicked off the Democratic blog Daily Kos because she is considering a challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Sheehan posted a goodbye message Thursday, writing: "I can't post here anymore because my potential run for Congress is not on the Democratic ticket. I know a lot of you are hostile towards my candidacy."

Sheehan said earlier this week she would mount an independent campaign against Pelosi if the speaker did not initiate impeachment proceedings against President Bush within two weeks.

Judge Okays Libby Probation

July 12, 2007
Judge Okays Libby Probation

A former White House aide who had his 2 and 1/2 year prison sentence for obstruction of justice commuted to no jail time by President Bush, I. Lewis Libby Jr., will be required to serve two years supervised release similar to probation, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

However, Judge Reggie Walton said he reached that conclusion "with great reservation" and he also delivered a forceful rebuttal to Mr. Bush's assertion that the sentence imposed in the case was too severe.

"It is fair to say that the Court is somewhat perplexed as to how its sentence could be accurately characterized as 'excessive,'" Judge Walton wrote in a footnote to his 10-page opinion upholding Libby's probation. "Although it is certainly the president's prerogative to justify the exercise of his constitutional commutation power in whatever manner he chooses (or even to decline to provide a reason for his actions altogether), the Court notes that the term of incarceration imposed in this case was determined after a careful consideration of each of the requisite statutory factors … and was consistent with the bottom end of the applicable sentencing range as properly calculated under the United States Sentencing Guidelines."

U.S. agency threatened whistleblowers

July 12, 2007
U.S. agency threatened whistleblowers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Managers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences may have threatened employees about testifying to Congress about problems there, Chuck Grassley, ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, said on Thursday.

He asked National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni to ensure that employees at the agency know they are free to testify.

"Several people, both inside and outside of NIEHS, alerted my staff to the fact that NIEHS employees have recently had discussions with management that left them with the impression that there would be retaliation if it was discovered that they had provided information to among others, congressional investigators," Grassley, an Iowa Republican, wrote in the letter.

Harris Poll: Bush Approval Drops to 26%

July 12, 2007
Harris Poll: Bush Approval Drops to 26%

President George W. Bush’s job performance continues to move downward as just one-quarter (26%) of U.S. adults currently view his job performance positively. This is the lowest since he took
office and is tied with Richard Nixon’s lowest ratings in the months before Watergate. Almost three-quarter of adults (73%) view the president’s job performance in a negative light.

Vice President Dick Cheney also continues to see record low job approval – just one in five (21%) of adults view him in a positive light while three-quarters (74%) view his job performance negatively.

One in five adults (19%) currently view the country as going in the right direction while 70 percent say it is going off on the wrong track. These are the lowest numbers for right direction since 1992, when the first President Bush was losing his re-election bid. In June of that year, 12 percent of adults thought the country was going in the right direction while 81 percent said it was going off on the wrong track.

Bogus company gets radioactives license

July 11, 2007
Bogus company gets radioactives license

WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators set up a bogus company with only a postal box and within a month obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that allowed them to buy enough radioactive material for a small "dirty bomb."

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who will ask the NRC about the incident at a Senate hearing Thursday, said the sting operation raises concerns about terrorists obtaining such material just as easily.

Nobody at the NRC checked whether the company was legitimate and an agency official even helped the investigators fill out the application form, Coleman said in an interview Wednesday.

Gonzales knew of FBI violations

July 10, 2007
Gonzales knew of FBI violations

WASHINGTON - Democrats raised new questions Tuesday about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales knew about FBI abuses of civil liberties when he told a Senate committee that no such problems occurred.

Lying to Congress is a crime, but it wasn't clear if Gonzales knew about the violations when he made his statements to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

One Democrat called for a special counsel to investigate. President Bush continued to support his longtime friend.