For those still wondering when Iraqi forces will “stand up” so U.S. forces can “stand down,” an answer came Wednesday: Don’t hold your breath.
With U.S. help, Iraqi forces raided the stronghold of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose ragtag Mahdi Army is thought to be running death squads in Baghdad. Before the smoke had cleared, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki disavowed the operation, saying he had not been consulted and insisting “it will not be repeated.”
Since he already had the microphone, Maliki also condemned talk of a timetable for when Iraqi forces might take a lead security role: “This government represents the will of the people, and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it.”
Given Maliki’s tenuous rule in the Green Zone, both points are debatable. But it’s hard to see how Iraqi forces will ever stand up if their commander in chief keeps telling them to sit down.
Posted by Dave Knadler
Rush Limbaugh rightly apologized for accusing Michael J. Fox of “exaggerating the effects” of his Parkinson’s disease in the political ads he’s done for Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill and others related to his advocacy of federal funding for stem-cell research. “Either he didn’t take his medication or he’s acting, one of the two,” Limbaugh said Monday of Fox’s visible symptoms of the disease. But the comment was “jaw-dropping,” as McCaskill said. “Only in politics would somebody find a way to criticize what Michael J. Fox has done.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
President Bush has been sending signals of late that he’s “flexible” on changing the strategy in Iraq — at the same time, he seems to be ruling out most options, including a phased withdrawal, troop buildup or partition of Iraq.
One Bush idea being floated would give the Iraqi government target dates for achieving certain goals, such as disarming militias.
But how would such timelines exert any influence on the Iraqis without real leverage, such as the threat of troop withdrawal?
The fact is, the United States doesn’t have any good options in Iraq. But there is a growing bipartisan sense that we can’t “stay the course” — which is no doubt why the White House has now stopped using the term. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday that Iraq is “on the verge of chaos,” and the current plan “is not working.”
A new U.S. strategy has to fully face that reality with a bold course correction.
First step: Fire Donald Rumsfeld.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
At least one seasoned Republican political analyst thinks Hillary Clinton is a “formidable candidate” who could win the 2008 presidential election.
Then again, maybe Vice President Dick Cheney is just hoping she’ll run. Cheney was handicapping possible Democratic candidates Tuesday on Sean Hannity’s radio show.
The veep was bearish on Barack Obama, the two-year senator from Illinois, saying, “I think people might want a little more experience than that, given the nature of the times we live in.”
In Cheney’s case, some would say experience is overrated. But for those cynics, he did have some encouraging words about his own political plans for 2008: “If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve.”
Posted by Dave Knadler
The gloss may be off the Bush dynasty these days, but this election is full of other legacy candidates. Bloomberg News reports on the multiple Senate candidates whose fathers were big in politics: Republican Thomas Kean Jr. (in photo) in New Jersey and Democrats Bob Casey Jr. in Pennsylvania, Harold Ford Jr. in Tennessee and Jack Carter in Nevada, as well as incumbent Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.
Five other sitting senators are children of former senators: Democrats Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Evan Bayh of Indiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas; and Republicans Robert Bennett of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
The article doesn’t note that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is the daughter of an Ohio governor.
Beyond the fact of all these family ties is a good question: Is political parentage really a good gauge of fitness to serve in such high political offices?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The worldwide spread of AIDS has not forgotten China. But the Chinese government needs to step up the efforts to provide education about prevention and the importance of adhering to drug therapy.
Reuters recently reported that AIDS was first introduced to the country mostly to poor farmers through botched blood-selling schemes in the 1980s and 1990s. This quickly spread to intravenous drug abusers and high-risk groups. According to a recent report, there are 190 new HIV cases every day, and 1 percent of all pregnant women in China are HIV positive.
Posted by Angie Holladay
