Afghanistan Issues Heating Up While The Republicans Are Up To The S.O.S.
"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!"
- Emile Zola, J'accuse! (1898) –
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Saturday, March 21
To Demand "Bring The Troops Home Now"
S.O.S.
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newsrackblog.com » Blog Archive » “The License Plate is Just the ...
While I reject that particular criticism, I want to make clear how much I respect those who have given so much time and energy to the cause of fighting for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. ...
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CQ Politics | Conyers’ Inquiries May Put Obama in a Bind
... from the criticism liberal activists heaped on him after he bowed to the wishes of House Democratic leaders in the 110th Congress and declined to pursue the impeachment of President George W. Bushand Vice President Dick Cheney . ...
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Let's Rethink Military Escalation in Afghanistan Before It's Too Late
Why is our government sending an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Afghanistan? So far, not even members of the Obama administration seem able to answer this question. Last week, The Nation's Robert Dreyfuss had a chance to ask Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen why they're pushing to double our troop presence in Afghanistan. Both Gates and Mullen said that while they're thinking about the war in Afghanistan in terms of a 3-5 year time frame, their immediate goals are unclear. What's more, a final decision has not been made yet to commit those additional brigades.
Like Dreyfuss says, the fact that a final decision hasn't been made is key, because it opens the door slightly for a much-needed public debate about what 30,000 more soldiers can possibly achieve. Some of the big questions that must be addressed include whether those extra troops alone will be able to secure a lasting peace for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States? That seems highly unlikely, considering each military operation targeting insurgents--like the one yesterday that killed 15 militants and 16 innocent civilians (including two women and three children)--only fans the flame of Afghan fury toward the United States.
Just as important, we must ask how are we planning to pay for this escalation, considering our economic crisis at home and the fact that so much of this war has been paid with borrowed money. And is committing tens of thousands more troops really the best way to help a war-torn nation with 40 percent unemployment and some 5 million people living below the poverty line? Proponents of escalation like Karin von Hippel, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggest that 30,000 more troops will make a psychological impact. But wouldn't a more profound psychological impact come from to sending humanitarian aid, creating jobs, and getting Afghanistan away from what Secretary of State Clinton recently called a "narco state?"
(MORE)
US air raid fuels Afghan anger « Dandelion Salad
US air raid fuels Afghan anger · Should Obama prosecute Bush and Cheney? Towards An Even-handed Foreign Policy in the US Congress? Rep. Dennis Kucinich leads a new trend · Kucinich to Obama: Change Failed Bush Policies in Middle East ...
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Obama Must Get Afghanistan Right
The Afghan Scam | The Untold Story of Why the U.S. Is Bound to Fail in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, Another Untold Story
Get Afghanistan Right Week Uncovers Significant Dissent on Planned Escalation
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Camus Cafe Political Coffee House: Specter Backs Holder And ...
By Ed. Dickau
Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just did it again. After making a huge fuss questioning the independence of Eric Holder, Specter just caved and said he'll support the attorney general nominee. ...
Camus Cafe Political Coffee House - http://
Holder Confirmation Won't End Torture Questions
By DEVLIN BARRETT – 52 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Holder likely will soon be confirmed as the next attorney general, but it won't stop questions about whether government officials or agents should be prosecuted for harsh interrogations.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote later Wednesday to recommend confirming Holder, who would become the first African-American to serve as the nation's top law enforcement official if approved by the full Senate.
A significant number of Republicans are expected to support his nomination, and Holder could be confirmed as early as Thursday.
One of the unresolved issues of Holder's confirmation is whether CIA officers or other government officials should face criminal investigation for harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding. In testimony at his confirmation hearing, Holder said that waterboarding is torture.
That declaration opens the door for another potential showdown between Republicans and Democrats on whether the Obama administration will seek to prosecute U.S. intelligence officials for past interrogations during the Bush administration.
The CIA used the waterboarding tactic on at least three terrorism suspects, included alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has unsuccessfully sought Holder's assurances that intelligence officers will not be prosecuted.
President Barack Obama has said he wants to look forward, not backward, and Holder made the same argument in his Senate testimony. But he has not made the kind of specific commitment that Cornyn sought.
Robert Turner, a professor at the University of Virginia specializing in national security law, said while he strongly opposes waterboarding, he doesn't think the government should prosecute U.S. officers.
"On balance, I just don't see anything good coming out of that kind of an investigation," said Turner. "The worst thing would be a partisan investigation and that's what I would expect."
Cornyn and other Republicans may get a chance to press the issue again when the committee considers the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department.
It was that office which, during the Bush administration, issued key legal opinions giving the green light to harsh interrogation techniques and detention of terror suspects.
SPEECH: Whitehouse to US Senate: 'We must look back, the past always bears on the future'
George W. Bush is seeking to extend his sweeping concept of executive privilege into his post-presidency, with the first battle likely to be fought over a renewed demand from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers that Karl Rove finally testify about the politicization of the Justice Department.
Memo to President Bush: A grim assessment of his legacy
In the waning days of your presidency you, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and your loyal image makers Karl Rove and Karen Hughes engaged in a spinning spree in the media to improve your legacy. ...
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Bipartisan Relations: Collaboration or Collision?
As Washington's most powerful Republican, Mitch McConnell has a choice: Nudge his caucus toward collaboration or put the brakes on the Democratic engine. READ MORE
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