by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.
U.S. officials have restarted their efforts to get the Afghan government to spray that nation's opium poppy crop, a major source of cash for the Taliban, and are finding some receptivity among Afghan officials after being resisted by the nation's president, Hamid Karzai, earlier in the year.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has become one of the greatest forces for congressional oversight as Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission's failures allowed a dangerous tile sealer to remain on store shelves a year after the agency announced a recall.
Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S.'s top commander in the Iraq, said Iran's ambassador to Iraq is a member of the elite Revolutionary Guard force which the U.S. military suspects is assisting Iraqi insurgents. The U.S. military also said it arrested three Iranian agents.
Some top Iraqi officials have lost hope they will be able to achieve Bush Administration's much sought goal of national reconciliation due to hardened sectarian animosities, focusing instead on less ambitious goals of having the government provide needed services to Iraqis.
Fred Thompson appears ready to go further than the other Republican presidential candidates on fiscal responsibility promises as he tries to attract conservative support, apparently willing to propose unpopular changes in Medicare and Social Security.
Sen. Barack Obama's prodigious fundraising owes much to money-raiser Julianna Smoot who helped him put together a group of bundlers who brought many other contributors to the Democratic presidential candidate's camp.
The U.S. is providing M-16s to the Iraqi military, automatic rifles are more accurate than the AK-47s long used by the military in that war-torn nation, but there are questions about the Iraqis' ability to keep the weapons, which need more maintenance than AK-47s, operating as well as worries that Iraqis could eventually turn those weapons against Americans.
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Comments
"Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S.'s top commander in the Iraq, said Iran's ambassador to Iraq is a member of the elite Revolutionary Guard force which the U.S. military suspects is assisting Iraqi insurgents."
As the highest ranking military lackey for the Bush administration, it's great to see him shilling for a war on Iran. Tell us, General, how's the war and occupation of Iraq coming? Will you read another report written by the White House in front of Congress again, or will you be honest with the American people this time?
Posted by: BC | October 8, 2007 11:15 AM
Since Americans, including Democrats, seem determined to pour billions more dollars on the corrupt Iraqis (with hundreds of millions diverted to corrupt government officials and savvy Iraqi businesspersons), the fact that Iraqi leaders are basically saying lose the reconciliation stuff and get real to American occupiers is probably not going to convince Americans, including Democrats, to turn off the money spigot or withdraw the troops.
The Iraqis are way smarter than we are. As they continue to say we don't want your reconciliation stuff, Americans, including
Democrats, will be virtually begging them to take our money and let our soldiers do their dying.
Meanwhile, Petraeus is jumping in to help the warmongers by talking up the Iran issue. Those Iranians are getting badder and badder by Bush/Cheney/Petraeus lights. No doubt Bush/Cheney are incubating a little band of Iranian expats right now, planning
a return to power.
Looks like Seymour Hersh
is right. An attack on Iran is imminent, to keep us in the region, courtesy of Iraq and Iran.Wonder which side the Iraqis will really be on. They are predominantly Shia, after all.
Posted by: Helena | October 8, 2007 11:23 AM
Now that the Iraqis have said that they have no intention of even attempting to meet any of the political benchmarks that the surge was supposed to allow them to meet, can we finally bring the troops home?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21186176/
It's an Iraqi civil war. Let them fight it, get our troops out of the middle of it.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 8, 2007 11:36 AM
No one can dig up anything on Israel's "taking out" a Syrian nuke facility? Like we didn't know the middle east is already a powder keg, or because US intelligence didn't even know about the facility until the Israelis told them about it. The biggest "intelligence" gaff since 9/11 is being covered up...
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | October 8, 2007 12:15 PM
Destroying poppy fields in Afghan? That's a joke!
What is the plan? We just go in there and start irradicating? Whatever. . .
Don't you need a plan? What about those people who loses their poppy fields? What are they going to eat? We are just spreading more hatred.
If you want to get rid of the poppies then you need a substitute plan. Have them plant corn or something else and buy their crops so that they will have income. Once they know that they will have income, people can methodically move away from poppy fields.
But if we expect people to suddenly stop doing poppy fields without any good plan, we'll just fuel the war in Afghan.
People need money and food to eat! What are we replacing the poppy fields with? If the answer is "nothing" then expect a backlash from those communities.
I don't have all the details but that's the most insane and stupid plan I've heard of! It'll never work!
Posted by: Lou | October 8, 2007 1:14 PM
Henry Waxman is just crazy now he is going to have his investigators{committee staff} go over the transcripts of Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannit and Mark Levins ttranscripts to look for violations of law. The three shows are protected by the First Amendment. Waxman is wasting my tax money and yours and I want him to stop this nonsense now! You are Hollyweird Waxman the area you represent.Jerry White, Springfield, IL
Posted by: Jerry White | October 9, 2007 9:57 AM