News and Blogs Roundup

A great deal happened on Thursday so here's a few items that caught my eye that I'll pass on.

First this from Jonathan Steele of The Guardian on Iraq's parliament and the growing possibility that our time in Iraq may be limited (hat tip to Today in Iraq):

In Baghdad yesterday more than 100 Iraqi MPs signed a resolution to set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops. The resolution was backed by an alliance of Sunni MPs and Shias loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It won the support of 104 of the 275 MPs, an unexpectedly high figure, before being sent to a committee for review, a manoeuvre which will delay it for at least six months. "We do not want another kitchen in which decisions are cooked away from the representatives of the people, and away from the hearing of the Iraqi people," said Falas al-Mishaal, the resolution's sponsor.

Another proposal, for creating mechanisms to set up autonomous regions in Iraq, was delayed for a week. The proposal, which could produce a separate Shia region in the oil-rich south, has split the Shia block that dominates parliament.

It should be noted that the Ayatollah Sistani, who's been a moderate cleric in Iraq, is losing his influence and distancing himself from politics. There are hints that even he is losing patience with the Iraq government and lack of American progress on a number of issues.

Steve Clemons of The Washinton Note has been following the John Bolton nomination and links to a Washinton Post story by Peter Baker and Dafna Linzer that confirms what Clemons has suspected:

President Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations appears increasingly endangered in the Senate, prompting the administration to explore other ways to keep him in the job after his temporary appointment expires in January, officials said yesterday.

The situation represents a sharp turnaround from two weeks ago, when the White House was confident it could finally push through Bolton's long-stalled nomination. But last week's surprise move by Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) to delay a vote convinced Republicans on Capitol Hill that the nomination may be doomed, prompting a search for alternatives.

There's something profoundly wrong about a president who keeps trying to sidestep Congress. There was a reason the founding fathers put checks and balances into the Constitution. John Bolton is far from being indispensable and has damaged America's image in the world. Bush can find better people. Bush's failure to find better people simply demonstrates how dangerously out of touch he is these days.

As we have discovered over the last four years, George W. Bush is not shy about trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Americans and their representatives. Laura Rozen of War and Piece posts this statement from Senator Jay Rockefeller's Office:

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today urged his colleagues in the Senate not to support legislation codifying the NSA warrantless surveillance program until the Congress is fully briefed and can answer critical questions about the programs effectiveness and legality. ...

“As one of the few members who have received the most detailed information to date, I can say that the Administration has not been able to document convincingly the benefits of the program,” Rockefeller said, adding, “I support all efforts to track down terrorists wherever they are – using all of our best technology and resources. But, it must be both effective and legal, and it must be conducted in a way that protects the rights of all Americans.”

It's a profound sign of today's dysfunctional Rupublican Congress that it ratifies legislation without full hearings and without fully understanding the program it's voting for or whether we can trust the Bush Administration to stay within the bounds of the US Constitution.

Laura Rozen also links to another Dafna Lizner article in The Washinton Post about the IAEA and the attempts by the Bush Administration and Congress to over-hype the threat post by Iran's nuclear program:

U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document "outrageous and dishonest" and offering evidence to refute its central claims.

Officials of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some "erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements." The letter, signed by a senior director at the agency, was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence committee, which issued the report. A copy was hand-delivered to Gregory L. Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.

(snip)

Yesterday's letter, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post, was the first time the IAEA has publicly disputed U.S. allegations about its Iran investigation. The agency noted five major errors in the committee's 29-page report, which said Iran's nuclear capabilities are more advanced than either the IAEA or U.S. intelligence has shown.

A copy of which was provided to The Washington Post.... Sounds like the IAEA is getting tired of Bush's nonsense and won't put up with the sham that took place in 2002 when people like Cheney said there absolute certainty that Iraq was reconstituting its nuclear program.

Steve Soto of The Left Coaster, who has a sharp eye for the latest news, noted Colin Powell's objection to Bush's interpretation of the Geneva Conventions. Here's a link via The Washington Post to a copy of the letter Powell sent to McCain. And here's part of the text in Steve's post:

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," said Powell, who served under Bush and is a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk."

There's a lot going on in Washington. I have no doubt that part of what Bush is doing is trying to limit his legal liabilities in the likelihood that Democrats manage to take a house this November. But one thing Americans should not miss is this: Bush is making absolutely clear what an arrogant and reckless president he is and it's not a pretty sight.

It's an encouraging sign that a handful of moderate Republicans as well as a couple of conservatives, John McCain and Lindsay Graham, are, at least on some issues, beginning to stand up to Bush (though neither McCain or Graham are consistent in opposing some of Bush's worst nonsense). Let's hope Arlen Specter develops some backbone at last and that Powell speaks out more often and more clearly against what he has to know is not in the best interest of our democracy and our natiional security. He has a lot to make up for.

In time, the moderates, in particular, may be the basis on which the Republican party eventually rebuilds itself. I'm a liberal Democrat and there's not a doubt in my mind that this country has to seriously change course, but our country needs two parties and the attempt by the current Republican leadership to create a de facto one-party system is unforgiveable; the utter damage their policies are doing to our country will be talked about for decades. In the meantime, most Republican right wingers continue to disgrace their offices and need to be fought every inch of the way. Paul Kiel of TPMMuckraker has been following some of the corrupt Republican nonsense going on in Wasington and reports on a story that Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) will be pleading guilty to criminal charges that came out of a corruption investigation.

Steve Soto of The Left Coaster has several good posts from yesterday but I'll end this roundup with the good news that Americans are holding firm on Bush; only 37% approve of the president. Steve Soto has the story.