It was heavy-lifting all the way, but the House funding bill that funds America’s operations in Iraq but requires withdrawal in 2008, passed today in a 218-212 vote.
I will be in Carlisle, Pennsylvania at Dickinson College Saturday evening for the “central Pennsylvania debut” of a new fictional film on Iraq by Director Philip Haas titled The Situation. Ticket information follows here — but just prior to the show at 7 p.m.
Senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is about to get former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack’s endorsement. This is pretty big news and strengthens Clinton’s position in Iowa significantly. Vilsack — while a second tier presidential contender — is nonetheless an important part of a credible heartland strategy.
Chris Matthews and Tom DeLay had a tug back and forth on whether DeLay had called Dick Armey “drunk” or “blind” with ambition. DeLay kept insisting through the show that his new book cites Armey as “blind with ambition” but Matthews pointed out to him that the book reads “drunk with ambition.
(Former Senator Jesse Helms was the partner of Dan Burton on Helms-Burton Law) Perhaps it was too good to be true.
(Israeli Ambassador to Italy and former Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Public Affairs Gideon Meir: AIPAC can help so much it hurts) Even the best informed of us can be just real dumb on Friday mornings. I never knew that AIPAC was NOT compelled to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The details are fuzzy, but news agencies are reporting that the Iranian Navy has just detained 15 British troops in Iraqi waters. After some negotiation and diplomatic sizzle, these troops will no doubt be released. But this is more evidence that America and Iran are poking each other through proxies.
My New America Foundation colleague Daniel Levy scores a great article in Ha’aretz suggesting that Condoleezza Rice is now a believer in and delivering on construction of “a horizon” for Palestinian-Israeli negotiated peace. George Soros’s piece, if you have not yet read it, on “Israel, America and AIPAC,” deserves another read by this blogger.
Joint Chiefs Commander Peter Pace — in the photo above may be reminding Japanese troops that homosexuality is immoral over in Tokyo too (just joking) — stopped in Japan to reaffirm the bilateral relationship.
I think Warren Olney’s show, “To the Point,” airs in the Washington, DC area again tonight at 10 p.m. It aired earlier today at 2 p.m. Eastern and 11 a.m. Pacific. Bill Richardson is on for the last 10 minutes — and Richardson is just superb.
