Andrew Sullivan: “What’s more telling is how unpopular the war is in Britain, and how an entire generation of Brits have now grown up thinking of the United States as a bullying, torturing force for instability in the world. That’s not the America I love – but it is the image of America that Bush and Cheney have built for the largest generation of human beings ever to grow up on the planet. In Italy, the government has fallen because there is no longer support for even a minimal presence in Afghanistan, let alone Iraq.”
This is the critical question, when you consider the aftershocks of what President Bush has wrought over the last 6 years. On the evidence of the last six years, is the US an aggressive, destablizing force on the global stage or a benign, ordering force?
Who can give an answer to that question that they’re proud of?
Obama on the Iraq War resolution from November 2002, a month after the vote …
Random but interesting political trivia, courtesy of TPM intern Eric Kleefeld.
Before Senator Linc Chafee was turned out of office in 2006, when was the last time a senator had lost his seat in Rhode Island? Seventy years ago. It hadn’t happened since 1936.
And if you think that’s a streak. How about Vermont? An elected US Senator from Vermont has never been defeated for reelection.
Ever.
Now, bear in mind that senators have only been elected for about a century. And there was one Vermont senator who got booted out of office. That was Republican Sen. Frank Partridge way back in 1930. But he was an appointee. The people of the state never voted him into office.
From Ha’aretz …
The United States demanded that Israel desist from even exploratory contacts with Syria, of the sort that would test whether Damascus is serious in its declared intentions to hold peace talks with Israel.
In meetings with Israeli officials recently, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forceful in expressing Washington’s view on the matter.
The American argument is that even “exploratory talks” would be considered a prize in Damascus, whose policy and actions continue to undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty and the functioning of its government, while it also continues to stir unrest in Iraq, to the detriment of the U.S. presence there.
…
When Israeli officials asked Secretary Rice about the possibility of exploring the seriousness of Syria in its calls for peace talks, her response was unequivocal: Don’t even think about it.
Israeli officials, including those in the intelligence community, are divided over the degree to which Syrian President Bashar Assad is serious and sincere in his call for peace talks with Israel.
Anyone want to try this question again?
It’s gotta be good if … (from the WSJ …)
In his latest remarkable political reincarnation, onetime U.S. favorite Ahmed Chalabi has secured a position inside the Iraqi government that could help determine whether the Bush administration’s new push to secure Baghdad succeeds.
In a new post created earlier this year, Mr. Chalabi will serve as an intermediary between Baghdad residents and the Iraqi and U.S. security forces mounting an aggressive counterinsurgency campaign across the city. The position is meant to help Iraqis arrange reimbursement for damage to their cars and homes caused by the security sweeps in the hope of maintaining public support for the strategy.
…
The new position is vaguely defined, and it is too early to tell how much power Mr. Chalabi will ultimately wield. How much money will be available to pay claims and how it might be awarded and disbursed remains to be finalized, too. But he is a skilled political infighter who has often shown a talent for making the most out of whatever hand he is dealt. Mr. Chalabi also maintains close ties with key political allies of Mr. Maliki such as radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which gives him extra sway within Mr. Maliki’s government. Indeed, U.S. Embassy officials suggest Mr. Chalabi’s closeness to Mr. Sadr is a major reason he was offered the liaison post.
Already, some U.S. officials are expressing concern about Mr. Chalabi’s new role, fearing he will undercut the elaborate system of elected and appointed local governments that American officials have been cultivating over the past three years. American and Iraqi critics also worry that Mr. Chalabi, a Shiite, will use his clout to ensure that Sunni Muslim neighborhoods of the city are hit hardest by the new security crackdown, a move that would further inflame Iraq’s sectarian tensions.
Today’s Must Read: the Democrats’ new strategy for combatting the president’s handling of the war in Iraq.
“Major announcement” coming from Vilsack.
Maybe he’ll announce his VP pick?
Late Update: Alas, no. He’s dropping out.
Sigh, and then there were 31. Or, I guess actually seven. My bad.
Later update: Sources say Vilsack bailed because of money.
As you know, Gov. Vilsack has gotten out of the presidential race. Not a big surprise really. And arguably the big story so far in the 2008 cycle is just how fast the race is developing — how quickly frontrunners are being annointed, how soon formal announcements are being made, how quickly people are dropping out, etc.
And I’m curious how much of this sped up cycle is due to blogs and web media. I don’t mean to ask whether this is the ‘netroots’ flexing its muscle, though that’s an interesting question in itself. But the pre-primary presidential winnowing process is largely a matter of buzz and a feedback loop between buzz, organzing and fundraising. People generate buzz, they get supporters, they get more money, that leads to more buzz, etc. Or in other cases, people have a lot of money. So they look formidable. And they get supporters and buzz, etc.
We can argue over whether money is driving buzz or vice versa. But a lot of the pre-primary phase is this process of sampling, often with relatively small sets of people. And the perceptions of those samples pick up steam and often become self-fulfilling. So is it the web and the more rapid sampling it allows — partly in fundraising but much more in buzz — that’s ramping the process forward and making it so fast?
Paul Rieckhoff, head of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, at TPMCafe:
I am extremely pissed off about the recent news out of Walter Reed Hospital. And you should be too. Turn off the non-stop coverage of Anna Nicole Smith and let’s have a little talk about how we treat our returning heroes.
Read Rieckhoff’s opening thoughts and jump into the thread. He’ll be with us all day for the discussion.
Ahhh, this is fun. Whackjob member of Congress Michelle Bachmann, it turns out, has discovered that there’s already a plan in place to divide Iraq. Iran will get half the country. And they’ll set that part up as a “terrorist safe haven zone.”
Says Bachmann: “And half of Iraq, the western, northern portion of Iraq, is going to be calledâ¦. the Iraq State of Islam, something like that. And Iâm sorry, I donât have the official name, but itâs meant to be the training ground for the terrorists. Thereâs already an agreement made.”
I can’t wait to hear Juan Cole’s reaction to Bachmann’s scoop.
Shi’a Iran is going to run Sunni western Iraq as a terrorist safe haven. And the new terror country’s official name will be the Iraq State of Islam.
Aren’t the Shi’a Arabs in southern Iraq going to be a little bummed?