State of the Union: Change Isn’t Easy
If you missed President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address or you just can’t get enough, you can catch the whole thing right here.
If you missed President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address or you just can’t get enough, you can catch the whole thing right here.
Matt Miller: America the Ungovernable?
When a 59-41 Senate majority plus a substantial edge in the House is deemed too slender a margin on which to enact centrist health reform, we may as well ask it out loud: has America become ungovernable?
Huff TV: Arianna: Obama Did Not Make Middle Class The Priority In State Of The Union Speech
President Obama did not make middle class Americans the centerpiece of his State of the Union speech, according to Arianna. She weighed in on the…
Congress Hack Attack: House Member Web Sites Hacked With Anti-Obama Language
Several House members had their websites hacked overnight after President Obama’s State of the Union Address. Around 6:30 a.m. Eastern, the sites of Joe Wilson…
Mike Elk: Obama Says “I Don’t Want to Punish the Banks”, Despite Thousands of Crimes Unpunished
Last night during the State of the Union, President Obama while calling for tough financial reform said, he “was not interested in punishing the banks”….
Aaron Zelinsky: Obama’s State of the Union Inspiration: Ronald Reagan
In past speeches, Obama has sought to channel famous Americans ranging from Martin Luther King to Abraham Lincoln. Tonight, he tried for Ronald Reagan.
Previewing President Obama’s State of the Union address on Fox Broadcasting Co., Chris Wallace asserted that Obama was “a participant in the last year in building up” “multi-trillion-dollar deficits.” In fact, the FY 2009 deficit, which totaled $1.4 trillion, was already estimated to be $1.2 trillion when Obama came into office and “virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years” are due either to policies implemented under President Bush or to the recession, which began during Bush’s tenure, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
From Fox Broadcasting Co.’s coverage of the 2010 State of Union address:
WALLACE: Fully two-thirds of this speech is going to be devoted to the economy, to putting people back to work, also to dealing with the deficit — trying to get down these multi-trillion-dollar deficits that in fact he has been a participant in the last year in building up.
$1.2 trillion of $1.4 trillion deficit was already projected before Bush left office. The CBO projected on January 7, 2009, that, including spending authorized under the Bush administration for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the deficit would total $1.2 trillion. According to the CBO, the actual FY 2009 deficit was $1.4 trillion.
NY Times: Obama policies are “responsible for only a sliver of the deficits.” According to a budget analysis done by The New York Times, “Mr. Obama’s main contribution to the deficit is his extension of several Bush policies, like the Iraq war and tax cuts for households making less than $250,000. Such policies — together with the Wall Street bailout, which was signed by Mr. Bush and supported by Mr. Obama — account for 20 percent” of the increase between the FY2008 and FY2009 budget deficit estimates. The New York Times analysis also stated that 70 percent of the increase is due to a combination of economic hardships, including “the fact that both the 2001 recession and the current one reduced tax revenue, required more spending on safety-net programs and changed economists’ assumptions about how much in taxes the government would collect in future years” and “new legislation signed by Mr. Bush … like his tax cuts and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.”
CBPP: “[T]he tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the economic downturn together explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years.” In a December 16, 2009, analysis of federal deficits, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities stated, “Some critics charge that the new policies pursued by President Obama and the 111th Congress generated the huge federal budget deficits that the nation now faces. In fact, the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the economic downturn together explain virtually the entire deficit over the next ten years.” CBPP included the following chart illustrating various factors’ relative effects on current and projected deficits:
Elizabeth Warren on the Great Economic Battlefield: Protecting the Middle Class from Financial Predators
A new Consumer Financial Protection Agency can save the middle class. Elizabeth Warren explains how.
A new Consumer Financial Protection Agency can save the middle class. Elizabeth Warren explains how.
State of the Union: Why Is Obama Still Clinging Bipartisanship?
Obama restated 2008 campaign promises that were not kept during his first year as president. It’s unclear how he can make good on them in 2010 working with Republicans.
Obama restated 2008 campaign promises that were not kept during his first year as president. It's unclear how he can make good on them in 2010 working with Republicans.
Will Pot Go Corporate and Spoil It for Everybody?
Marijuana is at a crossroads.
Marijuana is at a crossroads.
Imagine Haiti with Radiation Sickness and Burns: Why We Must Disarm
If we wish never to see a "nuclear Haiti," nuclear abolition must happen and it is up to all of us to maintain the pressure on our leadership until it does.
If we wish never to see a "nuclear Haiti," nuclear abolition must happen and it is up to all of us to maintain the pressure on our leadership until it does.
Fighting on Frontlines of the Foreclosure Crisis: Citizens Take on the Monster Banks
Combining grassroots organizing, legal action, pressure on the banks and eviction-day sit-ins, activists in East Boston are winning the fight to keep people in their homes.
Combining grassroots organizing, legal action, pressure on the banks and eviction-day sit-ins, activists in East Boston are winning the fight to keep people in their homes.
Pearls Before Swine
Yes, it was a great speech, the more so for its unadorned honesty, not for soaring, rhetorical cadences like those of his campaign. Yes, he told the Roberts Court to its face what damage it has done. Yes, he put…
Congress – Speech Technology – United States – Social Sciences – Union Speech
The lovin’ was easy, It’s the livin’ that’s hard . . .
“It is our hope that policy makers will appreciate the evidence we present regarding the importance of truly full employment, particularly as it applies to those in the bottom half of the income scale. Given recent abuses of corporate power,…
Policy – Economic – Obama Administration – Congress – National Budget
While Bob Kagan Waits for Nations to Become Democratic…
The recent first-year assessment of Obama foreign policy by Robert Kagan in World Affairs Journal has prompted a meaty discussion of how (and whether) US foreign policy has been reoriented by the new administration. The heart of Kagan’s argument is…
Robert Kagan – Barack Obama – United States – Foreign policy of the United States – Democratic Party
Fox News executive attacks rival networks for focusing too much on Haiti and ignoring ?big stories in America.?
Last week, the Massachusetts Senate race boosted Fox News to a major ratings win, beating out the USA Network, the longtime top-ranked basic cable network in prime time. The LA Times’ Matea Gold notes that “in prime time, the network’s focus was on politics far more than Haiti.” Fox News Executive Vice President for Programming […]
Last week, the Massachusetts Senate race boosted Fox News to a major ratings win, beating out the USA Network, the longtime top-ranked basic cable network in prime time. The LA Times’ Matea Gold notes that “in prime time, the network’s focus was on politics far more than Haiti.” Fox News Executive Vice President for Programming Bill Shine responded by attacking other networks, especially CNN, for covering Haiti at the expense of “big stories in America”:
But in prime time, the network’s focus was on politics far more than Haiti. According to a news analysis by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, Fox News devoted 44% of its airtime to the Senate race and 16% to Haiti.
That was the case for MSNBC’s left-leaning prime-time commentators as well: The network spent 51% of its airtime on the Senate race and just 11% on Haiti. CNN chose the opposite route, devoting 67% of prime time to Haiti and 19% to the election.
“Look, what happened in Haiti was just horrific,” said Shine, who said the network devoted significant resources to covering the story and showcased the coverage throughout the day. “But there are also some big stories in America that we chose not to ignore the way that other networks seemed to.”
Fox News was one of the few networks that chose to not broadcast the Hope for Haiti Now benefit concert. Instead, Bill O’Reilly aired a segment about Sarah and Bristol Palin’s “body language” during their Oprah interview and Sean Hannity conducted an interview with Karl Rove on the Obama administration’s approval ratings and health care reform.
Lobbyists For Foreign Corporations Begin Fight To Ensure Foreign Money Can Influence American Elections
Last week, the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision invalidated a sixty-three year-old ban on corporate money in federal elections. The ruling gives corporations essentially the same rights as individuals in their ability to spend freely on political advertising, even if those advertisements explicitly advocate the election or […]
Last week, the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision invalidated a sixty-three year-old ban on corporate money in federal elections. The ruling gives corporations essentially the same rights as individuals in their ability to spend freely on political advertising, even if those advertisements explicitly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate. One consequence of this decision is that foreign corporations with U.S.-subsidiaries are likely to be able to now spend unlimited amounts on American elections.
Congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), are drafting legislation to curb the influence of foreign corporations and foreign governments following the decision. However, the National Journal reported today that corporate lobbyists representing foreign corporations are already organizing to defeat such a proposal. The Organization for International Investment, a trade group representing foreign banks, oil companies, and other foreign corporations operating in the United States, “lashed out” at Van Hollen’s proposals. “The concern over foreign influence in our political system is a red herring,” said Nancy McLernon, the head of OII.
McLernon — who previously worked for Citizens for a Sound Economy, a stealth “grassroots” corporate lobbying group now known as Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks — is wrong to assert that the danger of foreign lobbying is simply a distraction. For instance, Saudi Arabia has already signaled that the progressive effort to build a clean energy American economy is its “biggest threat”:
Saudi Arabia’s economy depends on oil exports so stands to be one of the biggest losers in any pact that curbs oil demand by penalizing carbon emissions. “It’s one of the biggest threats that we are facing,” said Muhammed al-Sabban, head of the Saudi delegation to U.N. talks on climate change and a senior economic adviser to the Saudi oil ministry. […] Climate talks posed a bigger threat, Sabban said, and subsidies for the development of renewable energy were distorting market economics in the sector, he said.
Presumably because of the Citizens United ruling, Saudi Arabian-owned subsidiaries operating in the United States can now spend unlimited amounts advocating the defeat of candidates who support clean energy legislation. According to a ThinkProgress investigation, foreign-oil backed lobbyists in America are already instigating efforts to kill clean energy legislation. Fortunately, President Obama is expected to address the issue of foreign corporations influencing American elections in his State of the Union address tonight.
In State of the Union, Obama takes on partisan dysfunction of Washington
President Obama used his first State of the Union address to reset his relationship with the American middle class. But it was the politics of Washington, rather than any specific policy, that the president spoke about with the most passion after a year when the change he pledged proved elusive.
Obama to call for bipartisan budget task force
President Obama will call for creation of a bipartisan task force to tackle the nation’s budget problems in Wednesday night’s State of the Union address, aides said, one day after the Senate narrowly rejected a plan to establish such a panel.
Treasury Secretary Geithner defends handling of AIG rescue
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner pushed back Wednesday against lawmakers upset about his role in rescuing American International Group and defended decisions that allowed the company’s trading partners on Wall Street and abroad to walk away with billions in taxpayer dollars as a result of that…
The Fix: First thoughts on Obama’s State of the Union address
President Barack Obama’s first state of the union address is in the books. But, the analysis has only just begun.
44: Alito’s State of the Union moment
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. responded to President Obama’s criticism Wednesday night of a Supreme Court decision last week by appearing to mouth the words “not true.”
Poll Shows Vulnerability Of Obama, Democrats
Mara Liasson, NPR
NPR Shop | NPR Community | Login | Register Find a StationNPR News and ShowsFind Stations | Music StreamsLatest NPR NewscastWhat is this?by Mara LiassonJanuary 27, 2010Morning EditionCause For Concern? When President Obama was a candidate, the nation's problems were a wind at his back. Now he must solve them.Cause For Concern? When President Obama was a candidate, the nation's problems were a wind at his back. Now he must solve them.Wednesday night's State of the Union speech is an opportunity for President Obama to reconnect to voters who are frustrated…
The United Nations: A Worldwide Disgrace
Obama Should Change Direction
Edwin Feulner, Heritage Foundation
The President of the United States tomorrow will inform the Congress on the State of our Union, as he is constitutionally mandated to do. The past 12 months have seen our country head down a dangerous course, and The Heritage Foundation can only hope that the President will use this time of reflection, coming on the heels of a stunning electoral loss, to change direction.You must recognize, Mr. President, that the State of the Union is not good. You need a new approach and fresh domestic and foreign policies. The caps on spending which reports last night said you were considering are but an…
British Government Warned That Iraq War Would Be Illegal
Before the invasion of Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s top legal adviser warned that the use of force was “contrary to international law” and “would amount to the crime of aggression.” According to testimony in the U.K.‘s Iraq inquiry, Straw allegedly rejected the advice as “dogmatic,” saying “international law was pretty vague.” The secretary would go on to seek and win a more favorable second opinion from the country’s attorney general just days before invasion. —PZS BBC: Asked by the inquiry about Mr Straw’s analysis of the legal position regarding the invasion of Iraq, Sir Michael told the inquiry: “Obviously there are some areas of international law that can be quite uncertain. This, however, turned exclusively on the interpretation of a specific text and it is one on which I think that international law was pretty clear.” He told the inquiry his advice had never been rejected by a minister before or since. Read more
Before the invasion of Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s top legal adviser warned that the use of force was “contrary to international law” and “would amount to the crime of aggression.”
According to testimony in the U.K.‘s Iraq inquiry, Straw allegedly rejected the advice as “dogmatic,” saying “international law was pretty vague.”
The secretary would go on to seek and win a more favorable second opinion from the country’s attorney general just days before invasion.? —PZS
BBC:
Asked by the inquiry about Mr Straw’s analysis of the legal position regarding the invasion of Iraq, Sir Michael told the inquiry: “Obviously there are some areas of international law that can be quite uncertain. This, however, turned exclusively on the interpretation of a specific text and it is one on which I think that international law was pretty clear.”
He told the inquiry his advice had never been rejected by a minister before or since.
Bill Lucey: Under the Gun, Obama Mounts Comeback
Who would have thought that over a year since the three presidential debates took place, McCain would look like the sensible sage, while Obama appears the one out of touch to the needs of mainstream America?
‘The Politician’ Book Details: John Edwards’s Former Aide Says Edwards Discussed Leaving Elizabeth
WASHINGTON (AP/Huffington Post)– A former aide to John Edwards says in a new book that the two-time presidential candidate told him he thought about leaving…
Ex-CIA Operative John Kiriakou Retracts Waterboarding Claim: ‘I Wasn’t There… Relied On What I Heard’
Well, it’s official now: John Kiriakou, the former CIA operative who affirmed claims that waterboarding quickly unloosed the tongues of hard-core terrorists, says he didn’t…
NY Post: “Whose side is the Justice Department on: America’s or the terrorists’?”
From the January 27 New York Post:
Whose side is the Justice Department on: America’s — or the terrorists’?
It’s just insane that a lawyer who defended Osama bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard — and who sought constitutional rights for terrorists — could be one of the Obama administration’s top legal officials.
[…]
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hopping mad about the situation — and rightly so. Months ago, Senate Judiciary Committee member Charles Grassley asked Attorney General Eric Holder to disclose who in the administration had previously represented or agitated for alleged terrorists.
The AG’s reply?
“I will consider that request.”
Holder must be thinking long and hard — because committee members have yet to receive a response.
Meanwhile, they’ve started asking other questions of Justice — like who came up with the brilliant idea to Mirandize undie-bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, limiting the amount of intelligence he might provide about al Qaeda and future attacks.
With high-profile terror cases coming up — like Abdulmutallab’s, and the outrageous Khalid Sheik Mohammed trial in New York — Americans need to know: Is our government putting in a good-faith effort when it comes to punishing the men who want to blow up our people?
The call to treat terrorists like civilians in court has been all Team Obama.
Which means the president and his administration also owe the American people an answer: Is the government’s prosecutorial deck stacked in favor of the terrorists?
A Justice Department spokesman, Dean Boyd, tells The Post that the department will be responding to Sen. Grassley’s request “very soon.”
Will it be soon enough?
It’s time for Holder and Justice to come clean.
Alleged Landrieu Phone Bug Crew Emerged From World Of Conservative Campus Journalism
Three of the four young men charged in the alleged bugging attempt at Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office Monday were involved in the well-funded, opportunity-rich world of conservative campus journalism in recent years, a link that provides potential clues about how the men knew each other and why they came to hatch the alleged plot.
Lobbyist Claims He Brought Down Jack Abramoff
In a new story in The Hill, little-known Washington lobbyist Tom Rodgers is portrayed as the key whistleblower whose information ultimately brought down corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. But it’s unclear how big a role Rodgers actually played, and how new his claims are.
The Tattlesnake — His Majesty O’Keefe: Karma Chameleon Edition
There are just some stories that warm the cockles and whatever else is in the Tattler’s heart — this is one of them. Remember this phony Republican ‘Simp Pimp’ that I wrote about in December 2009 in “Why the GOP Hates ACORN and the Poor”? Well, now he’s in the pokey for committing a federal felony in […]
McCollum Expands Leads in Florida
A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds Bill McCollum (R) extending his lead over Alex Sink (D) to 10 points in the gubernatorial race, 51% to 41%.
Said pollster Peter Brown: “But McCollum shouldn’t start picking out draperies for the governor’s office. Certainly part of his lead is due to being somewhat better known than Ms. Sink – although neither one is a household name in the state.”
McCollum led by just four points in late October.
Toomey Leads by Double-Digits in Pennsylvania
A new Franklin & Marshall poll being in Pennsylvania finds Pat Toomey (R) leading Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) for the U.S. Senate by 14 points among likely voters, 45% to 31%.
Toomey leads Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), 41 percent to 19 percent.
In a Democratic primary match up, Specter leads Sestak, 30% to 13%, with 50% undecided.
Bill Moyers: Haiti’s Problems Are Rooted in Its Colonial Legacy
Despite what Pat Robertson and David Brooks tell you, Haiti’s devastation is the product of Western domination — not regressive social norms or Satanism.
Despite what Pat Robertson and David Brooks tell you, Haiti's devastation is the product of Western domination — not regressive social norms or Satanism.
Glenn Beck’s Gestapo Tactics — Assailing Obama and Progressives with Holocaust Imagery
Beck uses his Fox News perch to preach stunningly irresponsible history, and organize a movement dedicated to destroying progressives and Obama.
Beck uses his Fox News perch to preach stunningly irresponsible history, and organize a movement dedicated to destroying progressives and Obama.
What Should Be in Obama’s State of the Union
Obama has the next 10 months to demonstrate some progress or face a shellacking in the midterm elections this November. Here’s what his speech should outline.
Obama has the next 10 months to demonstrate some progress or face a shellacking in the midterm elections this November. Here's what his speech should outline.
Tell Retreating Obama and Dems: No Health Reform, No Contributions
Last Tuesday in MA, Obama and the Democrats suffered a setback — and ever since they have run around like chickens with their heads cut off turning it into a rout. We learn that Obama will probably downplay health…
Democratic – Senate – United States – Politics – United States Senate
Saudi Arabia
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabian Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said the kingdom will continue to pump money to boost growth in 2010, even as the economy rebounds from last year’s stagnation. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is…
Saudi Arabia – Middle East – Bloomberg L.P. – United States – Business and Economy
Obama’s Tiny Idea For Main Street, A Big Spending Freeze For Wall Street
President Obama yesterday offered a set of proposals for helping America’s troubled middle class. All are sensible and worthwhile. But none will bring jobs back. And Americans could be forgiven for wondering how the President plans to enact any of…
United States – Wall Street – Middle class – President of the United States – White House
Halliburton/KBR Goes After Rape Survivor Jamie Leigh Jones? Personal Integrity In Its Supreme Court Petition
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. The attack occurred while she was out with a “small group of Halliburton firefighters,” just four days after her arrival in Iraq. After taking a few sips of her drink, she later woke up in the […]
In 2005, Jamie Leigh Jones was gang-raped by her co-workers while she was working for Halliburton/KBR in Baghdad. The attack occurred while she was out with a “small group of Halliburton firefighters,” just four days after her arrival in Iraq. After taking a few sips of her drink, she later woke up in the barracks, “naked” and “severely beaten.” Her “breasts were so badly mauled that she is permanently disfigured.”
In an apparent attempt to cover up the incident, the company then put her in a shipping container for at least 24 hours without food, water, or a bed, and “warned her that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.” Even more insultingly, the DOJ resisted bringing any criminal charges in the matter.
Jones tried to sue the company for failing to protect her, but KBR argued that Jones’ employment contract — created for the company under the tenure of then-CEO Dick Cheney — warranted her claims being heard in private arbitration, without jury, judge, public record, or transcript of the proceedings. Basically, KBR argued that Jones’ brutal rape was a workplace injury — nothing more. But in September, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Jones. “Jones’ allegations do not ‘touch matters’ related to her employment, let alone have a ’significant relationship’ to her employment contract,” wrote the court.
KBR is now petitioning the Supreme Court to reverse the ruling. The contractor is personally going after Jones’ integrity to argue that she shouldn’t have a fair and open hearing. Stephanie Mencimer from Mother Jones reports:
On Jan. 19, it petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing Jones to press her case in a civil court rather than in arbitration. Among its many arguments in favor of a high court hearing: that Jones is a relentless self-promoter who has “sensationalize[d] her allegations against the KBR Defendants in the media, before the courts, and before Congress.” … KBR also suggests that much of Jones’ story is fabricated. The company says in a footnote, “Many, if not all, of her allegations against the KBR Defenandants are demonstrably false. The KBR Defendants intend to vigorously contest Jones’s allegations and show that her claims against the KBR Defendants are factually and legally untenable.”
The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 signed into law by President Obama in December contained an amendment by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) — inspired by Jones’ story — that prohibits defense contractors from restricting their employees’ abilities to take workplace discrimination, battery, and sexual assault cases to court. Mencimer notes that in its petition, KBR is “clearly miffed about the Franken Amendment, which it credits Jones with getting passed.”
Treasury Secretary Geithner faces harsh criticism from legislators over bailouts
When Timothy F. Geithner emerged as the leading candidate for Treasury secretary in late 2008, he privately urged Barack Obama to think twice about whether to hire him. Geithner had been a key architect of the government’s bailout of Wall Street and would carry that history into the new job, he…
James O’Keefe charged in alleged plot to bug Senator Mary Landrieu’s office
The conservative young filmmaker whose undercover sting damaged a liberal activist group last year faces federal criminal charges in an alleged plot to bug the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).
Obama will reset his agenda in State of the Union speech
When President Obama appears before Congress and the nation on Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union speech, his goals will be to reset his agenda, assure his demoralized party that he has not given up on key priorities and try to convince a skeptical public that he can still change…
U.S. is unprepared for major bioterrorism attack, commission finds
More than eight years after the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, the United States is still unprepared to respond to the threat of large-scale bioterrorism, a congressionally appointed commission said Tuesday in a report that gave the government mixed grades overall for how it has protected Americans…
Senate rejects plan to create commission on federal deficit
The Senate on Tuesday rejected a plan to create a bipartisan commission to tackle the nation’s budget problems, but advocates vowed to keep pushing the idea, citing new projections showing that the improving economy has yet to stem the tide of red ink.
Pentagon Clueless on Fort Hood Shootings
Debra Saunders, SF Chronicle
Congress Fiddles While the Deficit Burns
Dana Milbank, Washington Post
At 11:30 Tuesday morning, the Senate will choose between responsible governance and ideological warfare.The smart money is on the latter.The federal debt has exploded to an incomprehensible $12.1 trillion, and the nation continues on its path to becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the People's Republic of China. Yet lawmakers can't even agree on a modest proposal to form an independent debt commission and then vote on its recommendations.The debt commission is expected to be voted down Tuesday morning, as foes on the far left and the far right unite to form a status quo…
Republicans Aren’t Sitting as Pretty as They Think
Ed Kilgore, TNR
Most of the analysis of the impact of Scott Brown's upset victory in Massachusetts has naturally revolved around the Democratic Party. Having lost the "Kennedy seat," in the bluest of blue states, with health care reform legislation (and the ability to overcome Republican filibusters on other legislation) in extreme peril, and already facing a very difficult midterm election environment, what can the Donkey Party and its leaders do to mitigate the damage? Will they pull together or scatter to the four winds? Will vulnerable House members retire, making a Republican…
McChrystal Discusses Afghanistan Plan
America’s top brass in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, sat down for a talk with the Financial Times last week about his strategy in the South Asian nation, how long he thinks U.S. troops will remain there and the possibility of the Taliban’s participation in the Afghan government. The FT on Monday published an edited transcript of the interview. —KA Financial Times: FT: You say clearly in [your] assessment that a foreign army can’t win an insurgency, that there has to be improvements in governance to win over the support of the population. At the same time it’s clear that there’s a lot of doubts about the ability of the present government to do that. What do you need to see President Karzai doing to actually ensure your strategy can work? Gen McChrystal: It’s not so much what I have to see; it’s what the Afghan people have to see. They will judge the credibility and legitimacy of the Karzai government – and that applies down to the local level, the provincial level, district level – they will apply their own metric, or assessment, on whether that’s legitimate for their needs. And it will be a little different in different parts of the country. So I think what we need to see is that progress continue. Much of what fuels most insurgencies is their ability to leverage a, or create a seam between the people and the government. So what we’re looking to do is to continue to see that close. FT: How is it going to be possible to close that gap, though, when there’s such a deficit of legitimacy in the existing government, in the eyes of so many Afghans, particularly in the south of the country where the insurgency is greatest? How do you persuade people that they should have faith in what you’re offering – the carrots, if you will – compared to the sticks that the Taliban can bring to bear, so easily, in so many parts of the country? Gen McChrystal: That is a key point. The first is to characterise the insurgency here. The insurgency here is most notable with the Quetta Shura based Taliban, that part of the Taliban. They were the government back in the ’90s. They are deeply unpopular, and so they don’t offer much. They don’t have the ability to offer development. Their vision in the past that they demonstrated was very hard on a tremendous amount of the population. So as shown in their polls, they are very, very deeply resented by most of the people. But they do, as you’ve said correctly, they do have the ability to coerce. And they have the ability to help create a seam between the people and the government through the coercion, but also the ability to support narco-activities, from which people can make money, and provide local rule of law. What the government has to do is really two things. First they need to protect the people. They need to give the people enough security so that they have the opportunity to choose. If a person can’t choose, there’s no point discussing choices with them. We’ve got to create for them the opportunity to choose. And then the government has got to make a case for its own ability to meet the needs and desires of the people. They have to then win the argument with the insurgency for the support of the people. Read more
America’s top brass in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, sat down for a talk with the Financial Times last week about his strategy in the South Asian nation, how long he thinks U.S. troops will remain there and the possibility of the Taliban’s participation in the Afghan government. The FT on Monday published an edited transcript of the interview.? —KA
Financial Times:
FT: You say clearly in [your] assessment that a foreign army can’t win an insurgency, that there has to be improvements in governance to win over the support of the population. At the same time it’s clear that there’s a lot of doubts about the ability of the present government to do that. What do you need to see President Karzai doing to actually ensure your strategy can work?
Gen McChrystal: It’s not so much what I have to see; it’s what the Afghan people have to see. They will judge the credibility and legitimacy of the Karzai government – and that applies down to the local level, the provincial level, district level – they will apply their own metric, or assessment, on whether that’s legitimate for their needs. And it will be a little different in different parts of the country. So I think what we need to see is that progress continue. Much of what fuels most insurgencies is their ability to leverage a, or create a seam between the people and the government. So what we’re looking to do is to continue to see that close.
FT: How is it going to be possible to close that gap, though, when there’s such a deficit of legitimacy in the existing government, in the eyes of so many Afghans, particularly in the south of the country where the insurgency is greatest? How do you persuade people that they should have faith in what you’re offering – the carrots, if you will – compared to the sticks that the Taliban can bring to bear, so easily, in so many parts of the country?
Gen McChrystal: That is a key point. The first is to characterise the insurgency here. The insurgency here is most notable with the Quetta Shura based Taliban, that part of the Taliban. They were the government back in the ’90s. They are deeply unpopular, and so they don’t offer much. They don’t have the ability to offer development. Their vision in the past that they demonstrated was very hard on a tremendous amount of the population. So as shown in their polls, they are very, very deeply resented by most of the people. But they do, as you’ve said correctly, they do have the ability to coerce. And they have the ability to help create a seam between the people and the government through the coercion, but also the ability to support narco-activities, from which people can make money, and provide local rule of law.
What the government has to do is really two things. First they need to protect the people. They need to give the people enough security so that they have the opportunity to choose. If a person can’t choose, there’s no point discussing choices with them. We’ve got to create for them the opportunity to choose. And then the government has got to make a case for its own ability to meet the needs and desires of the people. They have to then win the argument with the insurgency for the support of the people.
