The Political Chase

Sen. McCain and Capt. Fishback Meet

More soldiers came forward with stories of abusing prisoners, supporting Captain Ian Fishback’s allegations of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Captain Fishback met with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) yesterday. The only statement issued from Sen. McCain was on the integrity of the US Army officer.

“I’m even more impressed by what a fine and honorable officer he is.”

Of course, there’s always an anonymous source that will supplement official statements:

[A] senior House aide who met with Captain Fishback said the officer had read a letter from a sergeant describing detainee abuse in Iraq and allowed the aides to read the document before taking it back. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Captain Fishback related the information in confidence for use in a possible Congressional investigation, declined to give details of the abuse.

Captain Fishback was scheduled to meet with Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) today. Levin is the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

Senator Cornyn’s Judgment

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) gave a rapid endorsement for Supreme Court Justice nominee Harriet Miers.

"I don’t need to reserve judgment, because I know she’s the right person for the job now."

What was the quality of Senator Cornyn’s judgment when he decided to get involved with Jack Abramoff?

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Top Story of the Day

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes expecting.

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CIA Director Peter Goss - Slam Dunk II

CIA Director Peter Goss takes the path of least resistance.

The C.I.A. will not pursue disciplinary action against George J. Tenet, a former director, or anyone else among current or former officials singled out by an inspector general for poor performance on counterterrorism before Sept. 11, 2001, the agency said today.

This is obviously not Goss’ decision; it’s the president’s decision.  Are all twenty people noted in the report going to receive the Medal of Freedom?

Late Update: I should not have left this out.

 Of those named in the report, Mr. Goss said, “about half” have retired from the agency since Sept. 11, 2001, while “those who are still with us are amongst the finest we have.”

9/11 was probably the biggest failure since the Bay of Pigs, and the impact of 9/11 was far greater. To know that the remaining staff noted in the report are the best we have is not warm and fuzzy news.

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All the President’s Women - New York Times

Profound statement of the day (century maybe). From Maureen Dowd’s column in The New York Times.

David Frum, the former White House speechwriter and conservative commentator, reported on his blog that Ms. Miers once told him that W. was the most brilliant man she knew.

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President Holds Press Conference

The president’s statement yesterday at a Rose Garden press conference:

[Let] me remind people that we are at war. And I have pledged to the American people — and, more importantly, the troops and their families — we’ll make sure they have what it takes to succeed.

From the Washington Post today:

Critical U.S. military war stocks in South Korea — including M1A1 tanks, howitzers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles — fell into such significant disrepair in the past year that it could have slowed a U.S. ground response to North Korean hostilities or another Pacific conflict, unreleased classified and unclassified U.S. government reports show.

Problems included faulty engines and transmissions and cracked gun tubes, with some tanks requiring more than 1,000 hours of maintenance to fix fully — a condition that would have delayed for days their use in a conflict, reports by the Government Accountability Office and Army officials say.

But even after government inspectors found, starting in October 2004, that at least half and as much as 80 percent of the heavy weapons and other fighting gear were not "fully mission capable," inaccurate military reports led the Pentagon and Congress to believe that readiness was high.

The commander of U.S. forces in Korea, Gen. Leon LaPorte, testified before the Senate in March that the equipment, known as "prepositioned stocks," was "in very good shape."

Why does the most powerful country in the world not supply the most powerful military forces in history with adequate equipment to protect our troops and the American people?  Why does the president and Rummy state ad nauseum that our troops will receive what they need?  Why do I and so many others repeat the same questions and concerns when they only fall upon deaf ears? 

If we eliminated the president’s tax cut for top 1% (or is it 0.5% – it doesn’t really matter), not only could we provide sufficient armaments and equipment to the honorable people that volunteer their lives, we could fund all of the operations for American forces in Iraq. There may even be enough left over for a six-pack of beer to celebrate with when “Mission Accomplished” becomes reality rather than a photo-op.

I am aware that the issue this time is specific to Korea and not Iraq, which has been discussed repeatedly.  The fact that it is Korea doesn’t lessen the severity of the problem, it magnifies it.  Furthermore, North Korea is armed with nuclear weaponry; all that is necessary is for a lunatic dictator to press the launch button.  This too was known before we invaded Iraq to eliminate the “clear and present danger of the mushroom cloud,” but was not on the priority list – Korea doesn’t have oil.

It is a shame and disgrace that US civilian leadership is so recalcitrant, arrogant and self-serving that they will not provide the basic necessities.  But, as Rummy stated, “When you go to war, you go with what you’ve got.”  Sheer brilliance that military leaders will study and ponder 100 years from now as they develop strategic plans for whatever conflict they may face. Not!

To finalize, when is the last time you read a news item or saw something on television that succinctly demonstrated or identified a George W. Bush success.  I can only name three:

1. When the president stood on top of the World Trade Center rubble and gave his brief bull-horn speech.
2. The president’s address at the National Cathedral on the national day of prayer immediately after 9/11.
3. The president’s address at the National Cathedral on the national day of prayer after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast.

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Remember Iraq?

Kos points out that the Democrats are losing sight of Iraq in their strategic planning.

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Be Flu Smart

Please, do yourself and everyone else a favor…take a quick read of the Flu Wiki. The President’s thoughts are to engage the military to battle a pandemic flu. No, you read it right - the military.

“The policy questions for a president in dealing with an avian flu outbreak are difficult,” Bush said. “One example: If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you, then, enforce a quarantine? … And who best to be able to effect a quarantine?”

Today, courtesy of the Patriot Act, law enforcement officers and the CIA can violate every civil right you have, including renditioning to a foreign country for extreme torture. Now the president plans to send in troops under martial law if you cough.

Did anybody see George burning a fire in the fireplace in August (remember Nixon)?

Stay healthy and avoid spreading a contagious disease. Let’s keep the CDC and NIH in charge of health matters instead of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Bush’s Cornucopia of Political Capital

Not only does the president have the country deep in debt, it appears his political management will operate with a deficit.

President Bush said Tuesday that he still had “plenty” of political capital and that he intended to spend it on battles over government spending, energy policy, Social Security and other issues that have so far proven difficult for him.

With an approval rate of approximately 40%, his cornucopia of political capital must be coming from China like the rest of US funding does.

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Inadequate Checks and Balances

Tomorrow’s Washington Post reveals that the burden of responsibility for FEMA’s poor performance are broader than just the White House and Michael Brown. The Post portrays Congress and particularly Congressional committees as an integral part of the problem.

• Poor oversight from Senate and House committees in general, especially the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
• Reps. Katherine Harris (R-FL), Mark Foley (R-FL) and other members of the Florida delegation previously made formal complaints about FEMA’s performance which largely were put aside.
• Overall failure of Congress to perform its obligation to checks and balances in the government. Congress is reticent to speak out against the Executive Branch for purely partisan reasons.

Michael Brown was previously called to testify on the status of FEMA. Brown’s testimony:

He conceded problems in “very marginal cases” and called [Richard L. Skinner, acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security] “just wrong” about other findings.

That is in stark contrast to the emaciated FEMA Brown described in his recent testimony. Is someone looking into perjury?

Neo-Cons Establish New Group

Pascal Riche at TPM Cafe has a revealing post about the new neo-con group “Committee for a Strong Europe.”

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