Practically the first thing President William Jefferson Clinton did on entering the White House was in effect to shut off congressional investigation into the Reagan-Bush scandal of Iran-Contra. Practically the last thing Clinton did on leaving the White House was to pardon fugitive billionaire financier Marc Rich, heavily involved in Iran-Contra. If Senator Clinton is indeed serious about running for the White House – by no means a given – it will be important to ask her why her spouse prevented investigation into Iran-Contra. But in any case, when Mr. Clinton dies, I shall be surprised if any neo-con or ...   more »

Today at least three members of the Bush family are scheduled to appear on Sunday morning talk shows. George Stephanopoulos will have former president George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush on ABC’s This Week, and Laura Bush will be interviewed by Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation. CBS has run promo moments for the latter interview frequently over the past couple of days.

Presumably these holiday appearances are timed to present a human face for the family most recently represented by George W. Bush’s press conference – the one at which he all but declared his determination to ...   more »

The reverse of a Christmas annunciation: the White House has divulged that its newest plan for Iraq is to infuse several thousand more military personnel. This hideous parting shot, reported by CNN, the AP, and earliest by CBS News, is to move a 3,500-man brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division to Kuwait soon after the holidays, reportedly to be available immediately for a “surge” into Iraq.

Not stated is whether the buildup would have been mooted if Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, had not required emergency surgery, opening a slim hope for the administration of flipping ...   more »

CNN.com reports this morning that the administration is moving 3,500 more troops into Kuwait, evidently in preparation for a buildup in Iraq: “BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military is planning to move a brigade of troops into Kuwait in what could be the first step of a short-term surge of American forces into Iraq to stabilize the violence.

The 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division is expected in Kuwait shortly after the new year, a senior Defense Department official told The Associated Press on Friday. The official requested anonymity because the plans had not ...   more »

From the report of the Iraq Study Group: “Both Iraqi and American leaders told us that, as Baghdad goes, so goes Iraq."

"The results of Operation Together Forward II [to control Baghdad] are disheartening . . . Security efforts will fail unless the Iraqis have both the capability to hold areas that have been cleared and the will to clear neighborhoods that are home to Shiite militias. U.S. forces can “clear” any neighborhood, but there are neither enough U.S. troops present nor enough support from Iraqi security forces to “hold” neighborhoods so cleared. The same holds true ...   more »

Here are 15 recommendations for federal legislation to protect voting. These lucid rules are passed along from tireless vote expert Kathy Dopp. The complete document is accessible here.

As Dopp states, “These recommendations are the result of detailed discussions with the foremost election integrity experts in the U.S., over a period of several months. They are complex and technical because counting votes is a complex process with many vulnerabilities. Protecting the vote count is not a simple matter. In the interest of brevity, we have omitted many technical details.”

Here are the recommendations themselves, summarized:...   more »