Posted by Sharon Burke, Director of The National Security Project Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:38:00 GMT
Last week, Russia’s President started a speech to an international security conference in Munich by noting that “this conference’s structure allows me to avoid excessive politeness.”
Or any politeness at all, apparently. Even Donald “Old Europe” Rumsfeld would have been impressed with Putin’s blunt and rude assessment of supposed US flaws.
Posted by Sharon Burke, Director of The National Security Project Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:19:00 GMT
The same night that television viewers in some DC media markets watched President Bush deliver the State of the Union address, some also were treated to a new ad campaign “aimed at educating the American public.”
Here’s the text of one of the 30-second spots:
The clock is ticking…and time is running out.
Iran is the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism – supporting attacks that have killed hundreds of Americans.
An Iranian group boasts 25,000 members who are ready to become suicide bombers in the US and Europe.
Now, in violation of the UN, Iran is developing a dangerous nuclear capability and has threatened to share it with others.
Stand up for peace. Call the White House and ask them –
(Wait for it…wait for it…)
to ENFORCE SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN TODAY!!!! (emphasis mine)
That certainly is a mighty wind-up for a feeble little pitch (and the ad is, for the record, more than a little misleading).
Posted by Matt Bennett, Vice President for Public Affairs Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:27:00 GMT
Well, after watching the President on Wednesday night, I think we all feel a LOT better about Iraq!
Uh, yeah. Would that it were so.
This latest in a long line of Bush “plans for victory” (there have been six or so, depending on how you count) is, of course, unwise on its face. Even those who believe the only way to succeed in Iraq is to escalate our troop numbers think we’d need a lot more than 21,000 troops, and they’d need to deploy for a lot longer than the Bush team has been saying they’re going for.
What then, are war opponents in Congress to do?
Posted by Sharon Burke, Director of The National Security Project Wed, 06 Dec 2006 20:51:00 GMT
Washington held its breath today as the Iraq Study Group released its hotly anticipated report. And the Baker-Hamilton wise man shuffle (plus honorary wise man Sandra Day O’Connor – she was the one in pink, in case you weren’t sure) did not disappoint: the study is well written, decisive in its advice, full of reassuring moderation, and it sounds entirely plausible. With any luck, it will actually be adopted. With a lot of luck, it will actually work.
Posted by Sharon Burke, Director of The National Security Project Mon, 04 Dec 2006 22:28:00 GMT
It’s official: John Bolton, one of the more undiplomatic diplomats in US history, will leave the US government. It could never be too soon.
But in an ominous reaction, Senator John McCain responded by expressing his certainty that Bolton “will return to government in the future, and our country will be better off for his service.” As far as I am concerned, this is just one more sign that John McCain should never, ever be President of the United States.
Posted by Matt Bennett, Vice President for Public Affairs Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:33:00 GMT
“I’m going to take a little risk here, and I’m going to tell you that, intuitively, I think we need more people. I mean, it’s just that simple.”
That was General Peter Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the Army. But he wasn’t testifying at last week’s hearings on Iraq.
He made that remark about the size of the Army more than three years ago.
