Liberal writer, blogger, activist Brian Beutler was shot this morning in my neighborhood near 17th and Euclid Streets NW in Washington, DC. He was shot three times in a botched robbery attempt.
For anyone who has not looked at the Washington Post this morning, they should flip to Karen DeYoung’s piece about a Baghdad Embassy report on progress in Iraq. According to the report, leaked to the Washington Post yesterday, Iraq has satisfactorily met 15 of the 18 benchmarks established by Congress.
Washington is abuzz with Seymour Hersh’s recent investigative piece which describes how the administration has launched covert operations that could bleed into military operations and provoke wider conflict with Iran.
A little over year ago after Paul Wolfowitz’s unceremonious departure from the World Bank, the newly appointed head of the World Bank, Bob Zoellick, went on a “listening tour” both as a symbolic gesture to the world to repair damaged relations with investors, but also to gather real “intelligence” of sorts on the needs and…
I was in Beijing just a little over a week ago. Steve isn’t kidding about the smog — on the bad days, visibility is about 10 blocks. On the very worst day, I couldn’t see clearly from one side of Tienanmen Square to the other.
China’s been out of the game for a few hundred years, but it’s back. The Chinese themselves believe that their collective ascendancy is fragile and fraught with problems — particularly environmental degradation associated with growth. The smog in Beijing really stings the unconditioned eyeball.
I’m glad Barack Obama’s campaign has stated that it is giving up the morphed Obama/Presidential Seal podium sign. I didn’t like it. But Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars had an excellent retort on presidential seal hubris. See above graphic and the link to her piece.
About to board the direct flight from Dulles to Beijing. Look forward to catching up with TWN readers there. But a great friend of mine who works for the State Department in Vienna sent me this clip that will make any travelers, or wannabe globe-trotters, smile. More soon.
Senator Obama put out this statement today on his just announced trips to Europe, Israel and Jordan: “This trip will be an important opportunity for me to assess the situation in countries that are critical to American national security, and to consult with some of our closest friends and allies about the common challenges we…
Some quick thoughts that I just shared on North Korea nuclear deal-making thus far: — Steve Clemons