President Bush declared today his continued support for Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, saying he is “the right guy for Iraq.” Bush added: “You can’t lead unless you’ve got courage. He’s got courage and he’s shown courage over the last six months.” But a classified memo from national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley expressed doubts about whether Maliki has the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq. It concluded: “The reality on the streets of Baghdad suggests Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into actions.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Brandon Mayfield, the Oregon attorney and former Halstead resident wrongly arrested in 2004 in connection with the Madrid train bombings, has settled a lawsuit against the federal government for $2 million. Some Americans will think Mayfield, a convert to Islam, should have been satisfied by the apology the FBI offered him after re-examination of fingerprint evidence showed he had not handled a bag of detonators after all. But then they didn’t have their homes searched and conversations monitored without their knowledge, and they weren’t jailed and treated as terrorists in their own country.
Taxpayers can only hope this reminds the FBI to exercise its broad anti-terrorism powers with more care.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sure, Kim Jong Il can threaten the world with his nuclear bombs, but the next time he wants a new Harley, he’s going to be sorry.
Since diplomacy and threats don’t appear to be working, the Bush administration is proposing trade sanctions on the sort of luxury goods Kim is known to covet: stuff like iPods, Rolex watches, plasma TVs and Segway scooters. And, yes, Harley-Davidson motorcycles — hard as it may be to picture the diminutive Kim astride one.
The sanctions would be coordinated under the United Nations. Most officials agree that Kim is unlikely to suffer much, given the reach of the global black market, but the symbolism is appealing. And with North Korea, symbolism is about the only tool we have.
Posted by Dave Knadler.
Were the situation not so grim, it might be amusing to note the continuing reluctance of the Bush administration to call the spiraling violence in Iraq what it is: civil war.
The White House has reacted sharply to NBC News’ landmark use of the phrase Monday. Even United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan seemed reluctant to go there, saying only that Iraqis had “almost” reached the critical point.
But let’s not split hairs. When you have opposing factions killing hundreds at a stroke with car bombs and mortar fire, in an escalating cycle of attack and reprisal, the situation has gone beyond a troublesome insurgency.
Evidently, a number of experts on the subject agree: An analysis in the New York Times notes that most American scholars believe the bloodshed “already puts Iraq in the top ranks of the civil wars of the last half-century.”
Posted by Dave Knadler
Good for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for saying "no" to letting Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., chair the House Intelligence Committee. She hasn’t named a chairman yet, though it apparently won’t be ranking member Rep. Jane Harmon, D-Calif., who is by far the most qualified. In passing up Hastings, Pelosi risks further alienating the Congressional Black Caucus, also unhappy with her treatment of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. But with all due respect to the caucus: Does it really want to hitch its credibility to that of an impeached federal judge (Hastings) and a guy who had $90,000 in his freezer (Jefferson)?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The fight over the peace wreath in Colorado is over, and peace prevailed. Lisa Jensen and Bill Trimarco of Pagosa Springs, which is about 200 miles southwest of Denver, put a wreath in the shape of a peace symbol on their house. But their homeowners’ association threatened to fine them $25 a day until they removed it. The association thought it was politically divisive (Trimarco said the wreath was a symbol of peace on Earth, not a commentary on the Iraq war). One board member said he thought the symbol might be a sign of the devil.
After protests — and media attention — the association backed down, and three board members resigned. Now the town is building its own peace wreath that it will display on its bell tower.
Sounds like the makings of a TV Christmas special.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
More Kansans traveling means a risk of more traffic deaths over a holiday period. Still, the state’s eight fatalities on streets and roadways over the four-day weekend — up from three during Thanksgiving 2005 — suggest drivers need to exercise a lot more care. During the period, the Kansas Highway Patrol also logged 44 drunken driving arrests, 2,685 speeding tickets and 284 seat belt violations. Troopers also wrote 90 tickets for failure to properly secure kids in vehicles. Of course, tailgating, speeding and other excesses are visible on area streets every day. If Kansans don’t want to drive safely for themselves, they can at least better buckle up their kids.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
