Elections Blog

Now, don’t think I’m being coy here, because this number is truly horrific, but bear with me:
The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the March 2003 U.S. invasion and another sign of the severity of Iraq’s sectarian bloodbath.
The toll, and the accompanying article, are [...]

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Here is the STRATFOR summary of yesterday’s murder in Lebanon:
Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was killed Nov. 21 in a Beirut neighborhood where a pro-Syrian party is known to have a large presence. As Gemayel was an outspoken critic of Hezbollah and a member of Lebanon’s anti-Syrian movement, Syrian intelligence likely staged the shooting as [...]

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Well, it was inevitable…every time I click through to a lefty source, whether it’s homegrown rag the Austin Chronicle or nationwide propaganda machine “Democracy Now!”, I’m confronted with that damn Lancet study with its assertions that 700 Iraqis a day have died violent deaths because of the invasion over a period of 3 years. I didn’t [...]

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The most well-known Christian (and anti-Syrian) politician has been assassinated:
Prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in a suburb of Beirut on Tuesday, his Phalange Party radio station and Lebanon’s official news agency reported.
His fatal shooting will certainly heighten the political tension in Lebanon, where the leading Muslim Shiite party Hezbollah has threatened to [...]

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…but will she walk the walk? In a piece proclaiming that ending the war is her highest legislative priority (not winning, mind you, but ending - well, that easy, pull out all the troops tomorrow, and it ends - for Americans, and for now only - thank God for the Senate, and for Joe Lieberman), [...]

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To counter the pessimism of my previous post, I present you with this lengthy defense of the ‘consensus’ solutions being leaked from the Iraq Study Group and speculated upon by Gregory Djerejian of the Belgravia Dispatch.  If one were a cynic (who, me?), one might call the following a bit utopian:
With the nomination of Robert Gates [...]

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Has Tony Blair gone wobbly in calling for dialogue with Syria and Iran (in a prelude to what is widely expected to be a similar call in the Iraq Study Group report)?  It’s not as bad as you think…and it’s worse than you think.
The overall approach is entirely sensible.  Said Blair:
“It is a perfectly straightforward [...]

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Writing in the Christian Science Monitor:

With their votes, the American people asked for change. They cast their ballots in favor of a New Direction.
They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.
The American people called for greater civility in how Congress conducts [...]

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As the War in Iraq enters what will probably be the beginning of the end for U.S. involvement, more pressure is being brought to bear on Maliki to step up to the plate.  Abizaid was the designated ‘bad cop’ this time:
The U.S. Central Command chief [...]

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The answer: very little.
More than any congressional elections in history, last week’s turned on a single burning national issue. Control of Congress has changed because of deep discontent about Iraq. But Congress can, realistically, have little control over what we make of the mess we have made.
Democrats could have demanded the departure of Donald Rumsfeld, [...]

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I think it was…if Bush had pressured Rumsfeld to resign prior to the midterms, by a couple of weeks, at least, it would have given the Republicans a good talking point to take into the midters, one that showed a belated willingness to listen to critics and make a change.  Another who thinks the timing [...]

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With the midterm elections seemingly repudiating the number one ‘neocon’ foreign endeavor, the War in Iraq, and the selection of Robert Gates as the new Secretary of Defense, the danger is that we will turn our back on idealistic foreign policy, and that would be a mistake.  Walter Isaacson has more:
[...]

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And that’s no surprise at all.  You don’t have to go very deep into this Gail Collins special to realize just how morally bankrupt the once-proud Grey Lady has become:
The Democrats will not be able to savor their victory for long. Americans are waiting to hear if they have any good ideas for how to [...]

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called U.S. President George W. Bush’s defeat in congressional elections a victory for Iran.
This, from Al-Muhaji, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, “The American people have put their feet on the right path by … realizing their president’s betrayal in supporting Israel,” the terror leader said. “So [...]

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Mostly positive reaction, it seems, to the choice of Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense.  What negativity there is mostly focuses on question of his role in the Iran-Contra coverup.  First, some good, from David Ignatius in the Washington Post:
Robert Gates will bring to the job the attentive style of a listener. He rose at [...]

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What would an election week be without hearing from Cindy Sheehan? Especially considering the Democrat victories this week - - she was BOUND to show up, eh? Part of the “Bush Lied, People Died” crowd - Cindy Sheehan is also under the mistaken impression that President George W. Bush was the only [...]

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It has been announced that Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down as the countrys Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. It is expected that President Bush will announce his successor later in the day today.
CIA Director from 1991-1993, current President of Texas A&M University, Doctor Robert Gates will be named as Rumsfelds the [...]

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UPDATE 11:59 a.m.: I usually put my updates at the bottom of posts, but this is a big one. Events have overtaken the content of what follows, as Donald Rumsfeld has resigned. I don’t know the details yet, but it’s a welcome move, and my only regret is that he didn’t do it before the [...]

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Here’s the rundown:
Saddam Hussein
Charged: The 1982 killings of nearly 150 Shiite Muslims in Dujail
Conviction: Crimes against humanity
Sentence: Death by hanging
Barzan al-Tikriti
Conviction: Crimes against humanity
Sentence: Death
Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Conviction: Crimes against humanity
Sentence: Death
Taha Yassin Ramadan
Conviction: Premeditated Murder
Sentence: Life in jail
Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid
Conviction: Torture and Premeditated Murder
Sentence: 15 years in jail
Mizhar Abdullah Ruwayyid
Conviction: Torture and Premeditated [...]

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The victims, those who stil live, are jubilant:

People were celebrating in the streets of Dujail, a Tigris River city of 84,000, as the verdict was read. They burned pictures of their former tormentor.
Celebratory gunfire also rang out in Kurdish neighborhoods across the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where taxi driver Khatab Ahmed sat on a [...]

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