<em>Al-Jazeera</em> and George Bush: Was this All Blair’s Design?

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Besides holiday gift shopping, which I still do too much of on foot rather than on-line, I have been digging into as much detail as possible on the so-called “Bush Bombing Memo” that recounts George Bush’s conversation with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair about bombing Al-Jazeera‘s headquarters.

Who Would be the Nation’s Top Spy if Something Happened to John Negroponte (and his Deputy)?

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I have to admit that I have not spent a lot of time thinking about the succession scenarios in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, currently headed by John Negroponte.

Bush Still Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses on Iraq Occupation

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(photo credit: The Australian) Many analysts of President Bush’s speech on Iraq last night noted that he has stopped insisting that things could hardly be better in Iraq and that victory was around the corner. He acknowledged high costs of America’s Iraq effort and slightly flirted with realism.

Colin Powell Validates Outlines of Wilkerson “Rumsfeld-Cheney Cabal” Comment

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Although I have yet to read a full transcript of tonight’s BBC interview with Colin Powell, a report on the former Secretary of State’s comments tracks with Lawrence Wilkerson’s impressions of a Rumsfeld-Cheney cabal at the White House.

Timing of National Security Agency Spying on Americans Disclosure Helps Kill Patriot Act Extension

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Although the New York Times cut a deal with the Bush administration a year ago to keep hidden the fact that it knew that the National Security Agency was spying on the electronic voice and data transmissions of American citizens — without court approval — the news of this which hit today resulted in the…

Op-Eds, Articles and Think Tanks for Sale: Thoughts on the Corruption of Washington’s Ideas Industry

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My friend Doug Bandow (note that the Cato Institute has already made him a “former senior fellow”) has recently admitted to taking payment from Jack Abramoff to write favorably about Abramoff’s clients. Doug has resigned from the Cato Institute and been forthright that this whole thing was a “lapse of judgement.” Truth in advertising.