International:Bush, GOP Rebels Agree on Detainee Bill
The White House and rebellious Senate Republicans announced agreement Thursday on rules for the interrogation and trial of suspects in the war on terror. President Bush urged Congress to put it into law before adjourning for the midterm elections.
"I'm pleased to say that this agreement preserves the single most potent tool we have in protecting America and foiling terrorist attacks," the president said, shortly after administration officials and key lawmakers announced agreement following a week of high-profile intraparty disagreement.
Palestinian President Says Planned Unity Government Will Recognize Israel
The Hammas-led Palestinian government that won elections in January has refused to recognize Israel, end violence, and honor past agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which Abbas heads.
Abbas told the assembly's annual ministerial meeting that he has recently sought to establish a government of national unity "that is consistent with international and Arab legitimacy and that responds to the demands of the key parties promoting Mideast peace.
Matthews: ‘I Have Been…Against This Bullshit War From The Beginning’
This morning on Imus, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews blasted the media for not covering the Iraq war. Matthews said that while people are still fighting and dying the Iraq, war “has been taken off television, and Bush must love it.”
Matthews said that most of the media was sold a bill of goods by the Bush administration, but that he’s been “a voice out there against this bullshit war from the beginning.” [well, Chris -not exactly, but you try] He added that Cheney was “totally wrong” about Iraq but still “talks like God on television, and we are supposed to believe every word.” Watch it here.
Harpers has an interesting interview with a retired 15 year CIA veteran who was the Director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program [the intelligence community’s premier group dedicated to the issue of political Islam]. Here are a couple of excerpts:
On Iraq:
I have come to believe that our presence is part of the problem and that we should begin to seriously devise an exit strategy. There’s a civil war in Iraq and our presence is contributing to the violence. We’ve become a lightning rod–we’re not restricting the violence, we’re contributing to it. Iraq has galvanized jihadists; our presence is what is attracting them. We need to get out of there.
On Bush’s campaign for democracy:
We’ve lost a generation of goodwill in the Muslim world. The President’s democratization and reform program for the Middle East has all but disappeared, except for official rhetoric. … Because of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other abuses we have lost on the concepts of justice, fairness and the rule of law, and that’s the heart of the American idea.
On what to do in Iran:
I think it would be detrimental to our long-term interests to ignore the Iranian reality and let ourselves be blinded by our dislike for the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. … The growing influence of Hezbollah, and its leader Hasan Nasrallah, across the region and within the Sunni street, and the growing regional influence and reach of Iran, are two new realities that we should recognize and engage. Iran’s nuclear issue is as much a failure of the nonproliferation approach as it is one of belligerence. Here too, I think, creative policies of engagement are called for and are possible. Full article here.
Rendering
Attorney General Gonzales defended U.S. actions that led to a Canadian citizen being falsely imprisoned, rendered to Syria, and tortured. "Well, we were not responsible for his removal to Syria," Gonzales said. "I'm not aware that he was tortured." In an embarrassing turnabout, a Justice Dept. official later backed away from Gonzales' remarks.
In Other International News
"The number of civilians slain in Iraq reached an unprecedented level in July and August, which saw 6,599 violent deaths," a new U.N. report shows. Researchers also noted "the growth of sectarian militias and death squads, and a rise in 'honor killings' of women."
National:
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said that a bill protecting journalists who refuse to reveal their confidential sources would "
The prices of brand-name prescription drugs continue to rise faster than inflation while "generic drugs hold steady," says a new report by the AARP. A report by minority members on the House Government Reform Committee found that the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies' profits "jumped more than $8 billion during the first half of 2006." Although the prices of the 75 generic drugs commonly used by older Americans remain unchanged. In other drug-related news, Wal-Mart makes a bold move to lower generic drug prices. Click here for more.
25% of Americans who approve of the job Congress is doing. Most said they could not name a single major piece of legislation that cleared this Congress.
Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who has pled guilty to selling his votes for tens of thousands of dollars, "will be eligible to receive his congressional pension after he serves his prison sentence." Congress has failed to pass a measure proposed this summer to deny pensions to members convicted of a felony.
CIA officials say President Bush had to empty the agency's secret prison network this month "because interrogators had refused to continue their work until the legal situation was clarified because they were concerned they could be prosecuted for using illegal techniques."
From The Left:
Is Rove GOP insiders an 'October surprise'? According to two conservative websites, White House political strategist Karl Rove has been promising GOP insiders that there will be an "October surprise" before the midterm elections.
"In the past week, Karl Rove has been promising Republican insiders an 'October surprise' to help win the November congressional elections," reports Ronald Kessler for Newsmax. Read more here.
From The Right:
Are videotaped beheading covered by Geneva? She notes of Bush that (as Graham explained), he doesn't want procedures used against terrorists at Guantanamo "to become clubs to be used against our people." Actually, clubs would be a step up from videotaped beheadings.
Thought to ponder:
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