Stand Warned - Giuliani Dumber Than Bush

When he spoke in Syracuse, I heard the New Yorker's Sy Hersh say that he believed our nation's foreign policy was hijacked by a handful of neoconseratives at the beginning of this century. This cult of misguided ideologues has gotten us into an unnecessary war and still holds sway with our President. If there's one undeniable truth, it's that the consequence of this cult-hijacking of U.S. foreign policy is the death of the public's assumption of good faith in Bush's leadership.

This brings us to the puzzling and - yes - shocking news being delivered in a well-informed yet delightfully snarky way by Josh Marshall of TPM.

The ONLY Way: Bush Must Change Course in Iraq

Immediately following George W. Bush's speech tonight, tune in to MSNBC.

John Edwards has something to say that he thinks is so important for you to hear that his campaign has purchased air time on MSNBC to say it.


From TPM Election Central:

John Edwards isn't going to use the usual method — a dry press release, followed by speeches at campaign rallies the next day — to rebut President Bush's speech tonight about Iraq. Instead, Edwards will run a two-minute ad tonight on MSNBC, set to air right after Bush's speech.

"Unfortunately, the president is pressing on with the only strategy he's ever had — more time, more troops, and more war," Edwards says in the ad, regarding Bush's expected plan to withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq, conditioned on progress in the country.

"Tell Congress you know the truth," Edwards says. "They have the power to end this war and you expect them to use it. When the president asks for more money and more time, Congress needs to tell him he only gets one choice — a firm timeline for withdrawal."

Here's a preview of what Senator Edwards will say this evening (tip of the hat to TPM):



Listen at MSNBC directly after the President's speech tonight to hear John Edwards' message in its entirety.

MSM - Be Careful of What You Sensationalize

At TPM Muckraker, Paul Kiel points to a New York Times column by Michael R. Gordon and Scott Shane, leading us to understand that there were tactical rather than practical reasons for having called the infamous press briefing (about Iranian made explosives, also known as EFPs) in mid-February 2007. [See Spencer Ackerman's blogpost]. The NYT column takes us back to July 2005, when the U.S. sent a diplomatic complaint to Iran over the use of allegedly Iranian-made explosives being used against coalition troops in Iraq by Shiite groups. Kiel says that the Bush administration clearly made a choice to focus on the evidence that Iranian manufactured weapons were being used in Iraq - but they stayed silent on the crucial detail of who they were being used by. The vast majority of U.S. casualties come at the hands of Sunni insurgents, not Shiite.

The NYT article mentions that this particular kind of press briefing [in Feb 2007] was something new for then-top commander Gen. George W. Casey Jr., since military officials have historically been reluctant to highlight the effectiveness of the weapons for fear of encouraging their use. Kiel reminds us that the claim that Iran is the only possible supplier for EFPs in Iraq has been debunked.

Notwithstanding the fact that EFPs are dangerous and the complaint was warranted, this knowledge certainly rips every bit of sensationalism from the original media storyline. My mind goes back to the unwarranted sensationalism in the media headlines in 2002 about the late (not great) Saddam Hussein and his connections to 9/11...his possession of WMD. It makes you wonder what the mainstream will buy into next.....