Poll: Public Worried About Federal Deficit
By The Associated Press
The public thinks the federal deficit will grow larger by the end of President Bush's second term and many people think the health care system will be weaker by then, according to a CBS-New York Times poll.
Seven in 10 said in the poll released Friday that they expect the deficit to grow larger by the end of his presidency. Four in 10 said they think health care will be worse, while half said they expect it will be about the same.
The Bush administration's new Medicare drug prescription program, which the administration said would save money for millions, has not inspired much optimism. About half in the poll, 51 percent, said they expect seniors will pay more for prescription drugs by the end of the president's second term. A third said they will pay the same and the remainder said less.
People were divided on whether the economy will be stronger at the end of Bush's presidency.
The poll also found that while many Americans would tolerate government eavesdropping on e-mails and phone calls without warrants to combat terrorism, they're concerned the program the Bush administration is aggressively promoting could encroach on their civil liberties.
While the program has been criticized as illegal by Democrats and some Republicans, 53 percent of the respondents said they supported the eavesdropping "in order to reduce the threat of terrorism."
Bush is viewed unfavorably by 48 percent and viewed favorably by 37 percent as he prepares for his sixth State of the Union address next week. The poll of 1,229 adults was taken Jan. 20-25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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Analysis: Hamas Victory a Message for Bush
By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
After making democracy a defining marker for American foreign policy, President Bush got a jolting message from Palestinian voters: Be careful what you wish for.
The United States promoted the democratic Palestinian election that now has produced an upset victory for the militant Islamic group Hamas. The election could install an organization the United States considers terrorist in place of a Palestinian leadership that, while weak, was pledged to work with Israel and with Washington.
The administration is caught between Bush's clarion rhetoric about spreading liberty even in unlikely places and the reality that self-determination can yield results that appear counter to U.S. interests. That's a challenge the United States may have to confront someday in other places as well, including Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Central Asia, the Balkans and — closer to home — South America.
"We in the United States have got to get used to the idea that other countries are going to have changes, and they may not be ones that" traditional Western thinking can readily grasp, said Council on Foreign Relations Mideast expert Judith Kipper.
Faced with the fruits of the democratic Palestinian vote he helped nurture, Bush made clear he was displeased.
"A political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of its platform is a party with which we will not deal," he said Thursday, hours after the extent of the Hamas victory came clear.
He tried to put a positive spin on the election itself, even as he acknowledged the problem it poses for a United States that has tried to play midwife to Israeli peace efforts with Arab neighbors.
"I like the competition of ideas," Bush told reporters. "I like people that have to go out and say, 'Vote for me and here's what I'm going to do.' There's something healthy about a system that does that."
Although it was obvious Hamas would do well, the landslide outcome stunned the Bush administration, U.S. ally Israel and the old Palestinian leadership that Washington had hoped could bring a new phase in Mideast peacemaking.
The administration probably thought elections would strengthen Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, said Hebrew University professor Amnon Cohen.
"That made sense, but maybe in hindsight it doesn't look so clever," Cohen said by telephone from Israel.
Washington often cites the election of Abbas as president last year as proof a democratic wind blows in the Middle East after decades of political stagnation under family dynasties and thuggish one-party rule.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also pointed to elections in Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt as evidence that "the neighborhood is changing." Rice is careful to add that democracy in the Muslim world will not, and perhaps should not, look like democracy in America.
Still, the success of religious-based candidates or parties, many of whom are hostile to Bush and opposed to American ideas, is sobering.
Muslim religious slates did far better in this month's Iraqi parliamentary elections than did the secular candidates preferred by Washington. Empowered by the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi Shiite voters could one day tilt their nation toward Iran.
The Muslim Brotherhood increased its power in Egypt's parliament nearly sixfold last year. Its lawmakers have tried to ban alcohol and some books, rid state TV of racy music videos and have violators punished with 30 lashes.
Saudi leaders regularly whisper to U.S. diplomats that open elections there would replace a government friendly to the United States with one dominated by radical Islamic politics.
Elsewhere, the Bush administration is at pains to say it is ready to work with democratically elected leaders with whom it doesn't agree, so long as they govern responsibly. That leaves Bush to try to gracefully suffer such thorns in his side as new Bolivian President Evo Morales, a leftist leader of coca growers who once vowed to be "Washington's nightmare."
The Bush administration cheered the 2004 "Orange Revolution" that elected pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko in formerly Soviet Ukraine, but may have to watch from the sidelines if his party is bested in upcoming parliamentary elections by the very Kremlin-supported politician he defeated.
Hamas has taken responsibility for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel, and holds as a central tenet that Israel must be destroyed.
Like the United States, Israel and European nations regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and will have no official dealings with it. Hamas leaders have said they oppose peace talks and will not disarm.
But Hamas is now known among Palestinians as much for its social services and promises of good governance as for its history of terror and militancy.
Bush seemed mindful of that, even as he could not disguise his irritation.
"It was an interesting day yesterday ... as we're watching liberty begin to spread across the Middle East," he said.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — Anne Gearan covers diplomacy and foreign affairs in Washington.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Analysis: Hamas Victory a Message for Bush
By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
After making democracy a defining marker for American foreign policy, President Bush got a jolting message from Palestinian voters: Be careful what you wish for.
The United States promoted the democratic Palestinian election that now has produced an upset victory for the militant Islamic group Hamas. The election could install an organization the United States considers terrorist in place of a Palestinian leadership that, while weak, was pledged to work with Israel and with Washington.
The administration is caught between Bush's clarion rhetoric about spreading liberty even in unlikely places and the reality that self-determination can yield results that appear counter to U.S. interests. That's a challenge the United States may have to confront someday in other places as well, including Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Central Asia, the Balkans and — closer to home — South America.
"We in the United States have got to get used to the idea that other countries are going to have changes, and they may not be ones that" traditional Western thinking can readily grasp, said Council on Foreign Relations Mideast expert Judith Kipper.
Faced with the fruits of the democratic Palestinian vote he helped nurture, Bush made clear he was displeased.
"A political party that articulates the destruction of Israel as part of its platform is a party with which we will not deal," he said Thursday, hours after the extent of the Hamas victory came clear.
He tried to put a positive spin on the election itself, even as he acknowledged the problem it poses for a United States that has tried to play midwife to Israeli peace efforts with Arab neighbors.
"I like the competition of ideas," Bush told reporters. "I like people that have to go out and say, 'Vote for me and here's what I'm going to do.' There's something healthy about a system that does that."
Although it was obvious Hamas would do well, the landslide outcome stunned the Bush administration, U.S. ally Israel and the old Palestinian leadership that Washington had hoped could bring a new phase in Mideast peacemaking.
The administration probably thought elections would strengthen Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, said Hebrew University professor Amnon Cohen.
"That made sense, but maybe in hindsight it doesn't look so clever," Cohen said by telephone from Israel.
Washington often cites the election of Abbas as president last year as proof a democratic wind blows in the Middle East after decades of political stagnation under family dynasties and thuggish one-party rule.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also pointed to elections in Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt as evidence that "the neighborhood is changing." Rice is careful to add that democracy in the Muslim world will not, and perhaps should not, look like democracy in America.
Still, the success of religious-based candidates or parties, many of whom are hostile to Bush and opposed to American ideas, is sobering.
Muslim religious slates did far better in this month's Iraqi parliamentary elections than did the secular candidates preferred by Washington. Empowered by the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi Shiite voters could one day tilt their nation toward Iran.
The Muslim Brotherhood increased its power in Egypt's parliament nearly sixfold last year. Its lawmakers have tried to ban alcohol and some books, rid state TV of racy music videos and have violators punished with 30 lashes.
Saudi leaders regularly whisper to U.S. diplomats that open elections there would replace a government friendly to the United States with one dominated by radical Islamic politics.
Elsewhere, the Bush administration is at pains to say it is ready to work with democratically elected leaders with whom it doesn't agree, so long as they govern responsibly. That leaves Bush to try to gracefully suffer such thorns in his side as new Bolivian President Evo Morales, a leftist leader of coca growers who once vowed to be "Washington's nightmare."
The Bush administration cheered the 2004 "Orange Revolution" that elected pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko in formerly Soviet Ukraine, but may have to watch from the sidelines if his party is bested in upcoming parliamentary elections by the very Kremlin-supported politician he defeated.
Hamas has taken responsibility for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel, and holds as a central tenet that Israel must be destroyed.
Like the United States, Israel and European nations regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and will have no official dealings with it. Hamas leaders have said they oppose peace talks and will not disarm.
But Hamas is now known among Palestinians as much for its social services and promises of good governance as for its history of terror and militancy.
Bush seemed mindful of that, even as he could not disguise his irritation.
"It was an interesting day yesterday ... as we're watching liberty begin to spread across the Middle East," he said.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE — Anne Gearan covers diplomacy and foreign affairs in Washington.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Bush Wary of Exposing Surveillance Details
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
President Bush again defended his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change or expressly endorse it.
"The program's legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," Bush told a White House news conference.
Democrats have accused the president of breaking the law in allowing eavesdropping on overseas communications to and from U.S. residents, and even some members of his own party have questioned the practice.
It was the president's first full-scale news conference of the new year, and the 10th since he was re-elected in 2004. He previewed his upcoming State of the Union address and fielded questions on former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the stunning victory of the radical group Hamas in Palestinian elections and the administration's cooperation with Congress on its investigation of Hurricane Katrina.
Asked if he would support efforts in Congress to spell out his authority to continue the eavesdropping program, Bush cited what he said was the extreme delicacy of the operation.
"But it's important for people to understand that this program is so sensitive and so important that if information gets out to how we run it or how we operate it, it'll help the enemy," he said. "Why tell the enemy what we're doing?"
"We'll listen to ideas. But I want to make sure that people understand that if the attempt to write law makes this program -- is likely to expose the nature of the program, I'll resist it," he said.
On the Middle East, Bush expressed concern that Palestinian elections had given a majority to the radical party Hamas, which has called for the elimination of Israel, although he noted that democratic elections sometimes produce unwelcome results.
He made it clear that any organization that has an armed wing and which advocates violence against Israel "is a party with which we will not deal."
Bush called the election results a "wake-up call" to the old guard Palestinian leadership, many of whom are holdovers from the days of the late PLO ChairmanYasser Arafat.
Questioned about a controversy swirling about disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Bush said he would cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating Abramoff and his alleged influence peddling activities, if necessary. Otherwise, the president said he saw no reason to release pictures that he acknowledged were taken of him and Abramoff.
"There is a serious investigation going on by federal prosecutors — that's their job," the president said. "If they believe something was done inappropriately in the White House, they'll come and look and they're welcome to do so."
Otherwise, Bush said, "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with him or know him very well. "
"I've had my picture taken with you," Bush said to the reporter who asked the question.
Pressed further on his relationship with Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his lobbying practices and has pledged to cooperate with investigators, Bush said, "I frankly don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him."
He said that federal investigators should pursue all leads and "look into all aspects of his influence on Capitol Hill," and that if the path also leads to the White House, he was sure they would "come knock on the door."
He was asked if he meets with lobbyists. "I try not to," Bush replied.
Asked about assertions by some Democrats that they will take back control of Congress in this year's midterm elections, Bush said he wasn't surprised they were talking that way, but shrugged it off.
He said he was ready to hit the campaign trail one more time, not for himself, but to stump for Republican congressional candidates this year. "We've got a record and a good one, and that's what I intend to campaign on," Bush said.
The president defended his administration's level of cooperation with congressional investigations into the government's slow response to the Hurricane Katrina devastation, citing the thousands of documents the White House has provided.
Questioned on congressional complaints that more could be done, Bush said that it would have a "chilling effect" on the ability of presidential advisers to speak freely.
Bush also said that his nominee for Supreme Court, Samuel Alito, deserves to be confirmed in the Senate, where he clearly has the votes but where minority-party Democrats were speaking out against him at length.
"The Senate needs to give him an up or down vote as soon as possible," Bush said in opening remarks that also previewed the themes of his State of the Union address next Tuesday.
Bush shrugged off a recent Pentagon-contracted report which concluded the Army was overextended and the United States cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency there.
The president predicted victory in Iraq and said, "Our commanders will have the troops necessary to do that."
He said the military was focused on transforming itself to ensure the armed forces could meet its goals in the 21st century.
"After five years of war, there is a need to make sure that our troops are balanced properly, that threats are met with capability. And that's why we're transforming our military," Bush said.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
President Bush again defended his program of warrantless surveillance Thursday, saying "there's no doubt in my mind it is legal." He suggested that he might resist congressional efforts to change or expressly endorse it.
"The program's legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," Bush told a White House news conference.
Democrats have accused the president of breaking the law in allowing eavesdropping on overseas communications to and from U.S. residents, and even some members of his own party have questioned the practice.
It was the president's first full-scale news conference of the new year, and the 10th since he was re-elected in 2004. He previewed his upcoming State of the Union address and fielded questions on former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the stunning victory of the radical group Hamas in Palestinian elections and the administration's cooperation with Congress on its investigation of Hurricane Katrina.
Asked if he would support efforts in Congress to spell out his authority to continue the eavesdropping program, Bush cited what he said was the extreme delicacy of the operation.
"But it's important for people to understand that this program is so sensitive and so important that if information gets out to how we run it or how we operate it, it'll help the enemy," he said. "Why tell the enemy what we're doing?"
"We'll listen to ideas. But I want to make sure that people understand that if the attempt to write law makes this program -- is likely to expose the nature of the program, I'll resist it," he said.
On the Middle East, Bush expressed concern that Palestinian elections had given a majority to the radical party Hamas, which has called for the elimination of Israel, although he noted that democratic elections sometimes produce unwelcome results.
He made it clear that any organization that has an armed wing and which advocates violence against Israel "is a party with which we will not deal."
Bush called the election results a "wake-up call" to the old guard Palestinian leadership, many of whom are holdovers from the days of the late PLO ChairmanYasser Arafat.
Questioned about a controversy swirling about disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Bush said he would cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating Abramoff and his alleged influence peddling activities, if necessary. Otherwise, the president said he saw no reason to release pictures that he acknowledged were taken of him and Abramoff.
"There is a serious investigation going on by federal prosecutors — that's their job," the president said. "If they believe something was done inappropriately in the White House, they'll come and look and they're welcome to do so."
Otherwise, Bush said, "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with him or know him very well. "
"I've had my picture taken with you," Bush said to the reporter who asked the question.
Pressed further on his relationship with Abramoff, who has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from his lobbying practices and has pledged to cooperate with investigators, Bush said, "I frankly don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him."
He said that federal investigators should pursue all leads and "look into all aspects of his influence on Capitol Hill," and that if the path also leads to the White House, he was sure they would "come knock on the door."
He was asked if he meets with lobbyists. "I try not to," Bush replied.
Asked about assertions by some Democrats that they will take back control of Congress in this year's midterm elections, Bush said he wasn't surprised they were talking that way, but shrugged it off.
He said he was ready to hit the campaign trail one more time, not for himself, but to stump for Republican congressional candidates this year. "We've got a record and a good one, and that's what I intend to campaign on," Bush said.
The president defended his administration's level of cooperation with congressional investigations into the government's slow response to the Hurricane Katrina devastation, citing the thousands of documents the White House has provided.
Questioned on congressional complaints that more could be done, Bush said that it would have a "chilling effect" on the ability of presidential advisers to speak freely.
Bush also said that his nominee for Supreme Court, Samuel Alito, deserves to be confirmed in the Senate, where he clearly has the votes but where minority-party Democrats were speaking out against him at length.
"The Senate needs to give him an up or down vote as soon as possible," Bush said in opening remarks that also previewed the themes of his State of the Union address next Tuesday.
Bush shrugged off a recent Pentagon-contracted report which concluded the Army was overextended and the United States cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to break the back of the insurgency there.
The president predicted victory in Iraq and said, "Our commanders will have the troops necessary to do that."
He said the military was focused on transforming itself to ensure the armed forces could meet its goals in the 21st century.
"After five years of war, there is a need to make sure that our troops are balanced properly, that threats are met with capability. And that's why we're transforming our military," Bush said.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
'Warrior princess' to White House?
By Jonathan Beale
BBC News, Washington
It has been an amazing transformation. In the first Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice was known as the "warrior princess".
As national security adviser, she was seen as a leading hawk and architect of the Iraq war.
But Ms Rice has now become the smiling face of American diplomacy.
She is the stylish pin-up of the Republican Party and the poster child of African-American success.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans think that she is doing a good job as their most senior diplomat, in stark contrast to the president's own approval ratings, which have slumped to about 40%.
No surprise then that the question is seriously being asked in Washington: "Could Condi run for president in 2008?"
Condi v Blondie
The book has already been written by President Clinton's former political adviser, Dick Morris.
The 'Condinistas' want to draft her for the presidential race in 2008, pointing to the way Dwight Eisenhower was eventually persuaded after World War II
In Condi versus Hillary, he argues that Ms Rice is the logical choice for the Republicans to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton - still the favourite to win the Democratic Party nomination.
Mr Morris says the US will be fascinated by a contest between a woman who has come to public prominence on the coat-tails of her husband -Mrs Clinton - and Ms Rice, who has fought her way to the top against the odds.
There is little doubt as to where Mr Morris' sympathies lie.
Blondie is still slightly ahead of Condi in the polls, but the US secretary of state is keeping pace with other potential Republican contenders such as Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Of course, this is still fantasy politics though, as no-one has yet declared themselves for the 2008 race.
What is more, Ms Rice has repeatedly ruled herself out, saying she has "never run for anything", and: "I don't know how many times to say no."
Grassroots campaign
That has not deterred Republican supporters who hope to persuade Ms Rice to run.
The "Condinistas" want to draft her for the presidential race in 2008, pointing to the way Dwight Eisenhower was eventually persuaded after World War II.
They have set up websites where you can sign a petition to "draft" her, buy Condi Rice badges, T-shirts - even lookalike dolls.
They have also taken out radio and television adverts. All without the approval of Ms Rice herself, of course.
But little is known about Ms Rice's own political views outside the field of foreign affairs.
The idea of Ms Rice as president still manages to strike a chord with the American media and public alike - it would be a fairytale in keeping with the stories of from log cabin to the White House
Many Republicans wonder what she thinks on issues such as tax cuts or healthcare.
Charles Black, a leading Republican strategist, doubts that she will run.
He says he has no idea of her own political agenda and points to the fact that she has never run for office.
The little that is known of Ms Rice's political views may stand against her.
While her Christian faith is clearly important - she attends church every Sunday - she is believed to be "mildly pro-choice" on abortion.
That would hardly endear her to the religious right. And then there are the more obvious disadvantages. There has never been a single black woman president in the history of the United States.
Fairytale
But the idea of Condoleeza Rice as president still manages to strike a chord with the American media and public alike - it would be a fairytale in keeping with the stories of "from log cabin to the White House".
She is seen as the woman who grew up in the segregated South and yet battled her way against prejudice to become an accomplished ice-skater, talented pianist, leading academic and now secretary of state.
Her accomplishments are largely down to her own drive and ambition and if she sets her mind to it perhaps one day she could be president.
But I would not put my own money on it.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4628998.stm
Published: 2006/01/25 15:03:05 GMT
© BBC MMVI
By Jonathan Beale
BBC News, Washington
It has been an amazing transformation. In the first Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice was known as the "warrior princess".
As national security adviser, she was seen as a leading hawk and architect of the Iraq war.
But Ms Rice has now become the smiling face of American diplomacy.
She is the stylish pin-up of the Republican Party and the poster child of African-American success.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans think that she is doing a good job as their most senior diplomat, in stark contrast to the president's own approval ratings, which have slumped to about 40%.
No surprise then that the question is seriously being asked in Washington: "Could Condi run for president in 2008?"
Condi v Blondie
The book has already been written by President Clinton's former political adviser, Dick Morris.
The 'Condinistas' want to draft her for the presidential race in 2008, pointing to the way Dwight Eisenhower was eventually persuaded after World War II
In Condi versus Hillary, he argues that Ms Rice is the logical choice for the Republicans to challenge Senator Hillary Clinton - still the favourite to win the Democratic Party nomination.
Mr Morris says the US will be fascinated by a contest between a woman who has come to public prominence on the coat-tails of her husband -Mrs Clinton - and Ms Rice, who has fought her way to the top against the odds.
There is little doubt as to where Mr Morris' sympathies lie.
Blondie is still slightly ahead of Condi in the polls, but the US secretary of state is keeping pace with other potential Republican contenders such as Senator John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Of course, this is still fantasy politics though, as no-one has yet declared themselves for the 2008 race.
What is more, Ms Rice has repeatedly ruled herself out, saying she has "never run for anything", and: "I don't know how many times to say no."
Grassroots campaign
That has not deterred Republican supporters who hope to persuade Ms Rice to run.
The "Condinistas" want to draft her for the presidential race in 2008, pointing to the way Dwight Eisenhower was eventually persuaded after World War II.
They have set up websites where you can sign a petition to "draft" her, buy Condi Rice badges, T-shirts - even lookalike dolls.
They have also taken out radio and television adverts. All without the approval of Ms Rice herself, of course.
But little is known about Ms Rice's own political views outside the field of foreign affairs.
The idea of Ms Rice as president still manages to strike a chord with the American media and public alike - it would be a fairytale in keeping with the stories of from log cabin to the White House
Many Republicans wonder what she thinks on issues such as tax cuts or healthcare.
Charles Black, a leading Republican strategist, doubts that she will run.
He says he has no idea of her own political agenda and points to the fact that she has never run for office.
The little that is known of Ms Rice's political views may stand against her.
While her Christian faith is clearly important - she attends church every Sunday - she is believed to be "mildly pro-choice" on abortion.
That would hardly endear her to the religious right. And then there are the more obvious disadvantages. There has never been a single black woman president in the history of the United States.
Fairytale
But the idea of Condoleeza Rice as president still manages to strike a chord with the American media and public alike - it would be a fairytale in keeping with the stories of "from log cabin to the White House".
She is seen as the woman who grew up in the segregated South and yet battled her way against prejudice to become an accomplished ice-skater, talented pianist, leading academic and now secretary of state.
Her accomplishments are largely down to her own drive and ambition and if she sets her mind to it perhaps one day she could be president.
But I would not put my own money on it.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4628998.stm
Published: 2006/01/25 15:03:05 GMT
© BBC MMVI
from the January 27, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0127/p09s01-cods.html
Can lying serve national interest?
By Daniel Schorr
WASHINGTON - One of the inherent powers of the president, apparently, is the right to lie in the perceived national interest.
In 1960, President Eisenhower had the State Department announce that a plane shot down over the Soviet Union was on a weather mission. He was left red-faced when the Russians produced the U-2 spy plane and its CIA pilot.
In 1962 President Kennedy cut short a trip to the West Coast and flew back to Washington from Chicago, suffering, it was announced, from an upper respiratory infection. The real reason for his hasty return was newly acquired photographic evidence that the Russians were putting nuclear missiles in Cuba - prompting the Cuban missile crisis.
In 1981, the Reagan White House condemned Israel for bombing the Osirak nuclear facility outside Baghdad saying, "The unprecedented attack would add to the tense situation in the Middle East." Left unsaid was that the CIA director, William Casey, had visited Israel and agreed to cooperate in the attack, using American-made planes and American reconnaissance satellites to pinpoint the target.
So now, 25 years later, once again we face the introduction to the nuclear waltz and the question of how far the administration will go in keeping Americans posted on the gathering storm. What we have heard so far leaves a lot to the imagination.
At a news conference last February President Bush said, "The notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous." He paused, and then added, "and having said that, all options are on the table."
Around the same time, Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker magazine that the United States was conducting secret reconnaissance flights over Iran to identify nuclear installations. The Pentagon, as you might expect, denied it.
More recently Vice President Dick Cheney said that Iran was operating "a fairly robust nuclear program" and that Israel might decide to act first if the United States and its allies failed to solve the problem by diplomacy.
"No president should ever take a military option off the table," he said.
So there you have it. Is the administration deceiving us about its true intentions? Or maybe it doesn't know its intentions. Maybe there are divided counsels within the administration. History tells us that a president will dissemble and even lie for his own purposes. I don't know how well the Bush administration is doing in keeping Iranian President Ahmadinejad off balance. But it's doing a fine job keeping the American public off balance.
• Daniel Schorr is a senior news analyst at National Public Radio.
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www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
Can lying serve national interest?
By Daniel Schorr
WASHINGTON - One of the inherent powers of the president, apparently, is the right to lie in the perceived national interest.
In 1960, President Eisenhower had the State Department announce that a plane shot down over the Soviet Union was on a weather mission. He was left red-faced when the Russians produced the U-2 spy plane and its CIA pilot.
In 1962 President Kennedy cut short a trip to the West Coast and flew back to Washington from Chicago, suffering, it was announced, from an upper respiratory infection. The real reason for his hasty return was newly acquired photographic evidence that the Russians were putting nuclear missiles in Cuba - prompting the Cuban missile crisis.
In 1981, the Reagan White House condemned Israel for bombing the Osirak nuclear facility outside Baghdad saying, "The unprecedented attack would add to the tense situation in the Middle East." Left unsaid was that the CIA director, William Casey, had visited Israel and agreed to cooperate in the attack, using American-made planes and American reconnaissance satellites to pinpoint the target.
So now, 25 years later, once again we face the introduction to the nuclear waltz and the question of how far the administration will go in keeping Americans posted on the gathering storm. What we have heard so far leaves a lot to the imagination.
At a news conference last February President Bush said, "The notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous." He paused, and then added, "and having said that, all options are on the table."
Around the same time, Seymour Hersh reported in The New Yorker magazine that the United States was conducting secret reconnaissance flights over Iran to identify nuclear installations. The Pentagon, as you might expect, denied it.
More recently Vice President Dick Cheney said that Iran was operating "a fairly robust nuclear program" and that Israel might decide to act first if the United States and its allies failed to solve the problem by diplomacy.
"No president should ever take a military option off the table," he said.
So there you have it. Is the administration deceiving us about its true intentions? Or maybe it doesn't know its intentions. Maybe there are divided counsels within the administration. History tells us that a president will dissemble and even lie for his own purposes. I don't know how well the Bush administration is doing in keeping Iranian President Ahmadinejad off balance. But it's doing a fine job keeping the American public off balance.
• Daniel Schorr is a senior news analyst at National Public Radio.
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www.csmonitor.com | Copyright © 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
Hamas victory redraws political map of Middle East
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Thu Jan 26, 6:12 PM ET
Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah party on Thursday in Palestinian parliamentary polls, and Israel immediately ruled out talks with any government involving the Islamic militant group.
Hamas won an overwhelming majority in the 132-seat legislature, taking 76 seats to Fatah's 43 in Wednesday's election, the official vote count showed. It gives Hamas the power to shape and possibly even lead the next cabinet.
The landslide took even Hamas officials by surprise.
"When we took part in the elections we honestly expected to win but we did not expect to win by so much," said Osama Hamdan, the group's representative in Lebanon.
"Sixty seats makes a winner, but winning by this large majority means the Palestinian people have given us a high level of confidence and put a heavy responsibility in our hands."
The biggest party in parliament can veto the president's choice of prime minister. Hamas called for immediate talks among factions to discuss a new government and Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas would ask Hamas to form one.
But Fatah leaders said they wanted no part in such a coalition. Firing in the air, Fatah gunmen in Gaza City vented their anger at Hamas's victory. They blamed Abbas and party bigwigs for the loss and called on them to resign.
In a clear message to Hamas, Abbas stressed that any government would have to follow his own program to negotiate with Israel for Palestinian statehood. The moderate Fatah leader has said he might resign if he cannot pursue a peace agenda.
U.S. President George W. Bush appealed to Abbas to stay in office and vowed Washington would not deal with an armed Palestinian group advocating Israel's destruction. Hamas rebuffed demands to disarm and change its charter.
"Today we woke up and the sky was a different color. We have entered a new era," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, of Fatah, said after Hamas claimed victory.
Fatah loyalists clashed with triumphant Hamas supporters who briefly raised their green flags at the entrance to the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah. Fatah activists trampled on one of the banners when it was lowered. Shots were fired nearby.
In Gaza City, Fatah gunmen fired volleys in the air and demanded the resignation of Abbas and the party's old guard. Hamas told its supporters to leave the streets to avoid clashes.
With peace talks stalled since 2000, and Israel and Hamas bitter enemies, Israel's Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could opt for unilateral moves to determine Israel's borders on land that the Palestinians want for a state. It has already pulled its settlers out of the Gaza Strip without negotiations.
ISRAEL REJECTS TALKS
Olmert, who took over from Ariel Sharon after he suffered a stroke three weeks ago, said in a statement Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that included members "of an armed terror organization that calls for Israel's destruction."
Hamas, whose support among Palestinians is based partly on its suicide bombings against Israel, geared its election campaign to public frustration over Fatah's failure to achieve statehood and its reputation for corruption.
The Islamic group's charity network in the impoverished Gaza Strip and in the West Bank also boosted its popularity.
"Hamas did not win because people loved Hamas, but because people were taking revenge against the past years of Fatah rule," said Adel al-Helo, 41, a Gaza shopkeeper.
Leaders of the EU, the biggest donor to the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority, said that Hamas must renounce violence and recognize Israel or risk international isolation.
In Washington, Bush said Hamas's victory was a sign that Palestinians were unhappy with the status quo and showed democracy at work, which was positive for the Middle East.
But he stuck firmly to the U.S. view of Hamas as a terrorist group. It has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings in Israel since the latest uprising began over five years ago.
"I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform," Bush told a news conference. "You can't be a partner in peace if ... your party has got an armed wing."
The United States is the main sponsor of the long-stalled "road map," a peace plan that charts mutual steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Fatah advocates a two-state solution to the conflict.
"I am strongly committed to implementing the political program for which I was elected," said Abbas. "And this is based on the path of negotiations and a peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel."
Commentators in the Arab world predicted that pragmatism would eventually oblige Hamas to soften its position and Israel to talk to the new Palestinian leaders.
Hamas has largely respected a truce for nearly a year.
Despite weeks of armed chaos before the poll, voting in the first parliamentary election since 1996 was orderly, with about 900 foreign observers led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter looking on. Turnout was 78 percent of the 1.3 million voters.
(Additional reporting by Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Saul Hudson in Washington, Mark Trevelyan in Davos and Jonathan Wright in Cairo)
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Thu Jan 26, 6:12 PM ET
Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah party on Thursday in Palestinian parliamentary polls, and Israel immediately ruled out talks with any government involving the Islamic militant group.
Hamas won an overwhelming majority in the 132-seat legislature, taking 76 seats to Fatah's 43 in Wednesday's election, the official vote count showed. It gives Hamas the power to shape and possibly even lead the next cabinet.
The landslide took even Hamas officials by surprise.
"When we took part in the elections we honestly expected to win but we did not expect to win by so much," said Osama Hamdan, the group's representative in Lebanon.
"Sixty seats makes a winner, but winning by this large majority means the Palestinian people have given us a high level of confidence and put a heavy responsibility in our hands."
The biggest party in parliament can veto the president's choice of prime minister. Hamas called for immediate talks among factions to discuss a new government and Palestinian officials said President Mahmoud Abbas would ask Hamas to form one.
But Fatah leaders said they wanted no part in such a coalition. Firing in the air, Fatah gunmen in Gaza City vented their anger at Hamas's victory. They blamed Abbas and party bigwigs for the loss and called on them to resign.
In a clear message to Hamas, Abbas stressed that any government would have to follow his own program to negotiate with Israel for Palestinian statehood. The moderate Fatah leader has said he might resign if he cannot pursue a peace agenda.
U.S. President George W. Bush appealed to Abbas to stay in office and vowed Washington would not deal with an armed Palestinian group advocating Israel's destruction. Hamas rebuffed demands to disarm and change its charter.
"Today we woke up and the sky was a different color. We have entered a new era," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, of Fatah, said after Hamas claimed victory.
Fatah loyalists clashed with triumphant Hamas supporters who briefly raised their green flags at the entrance to the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah. Fatah activists trampled on one of the banners when it was lowered. Shots were fired nearby.
In Gaza City, Fatah gunmen fired volleys in the air and demanded the resignation of Abbas and the party's old guard. Hamas told its supporters to leave the streets to avoid clashes.
With peace talks stalled since 2000, and Israel and Hamas bitter enemies, Israel's Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could opt for unilateral moves to determine Israel's borders on land that the Palestinians want for a state. It has already pulled its settlers out of the Gaza Strip without negotiations.
ISRAEL REJECTS TALKS
Olmert, who took over from Ariel Sharon after he suffered a stroke three weeks ago, said in a statement Israel would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that included members "of an armed terror organization that calls for Israel's destruction."
Hamas, whose support among Palestinians is based partly on its suicide bombings against Israel, geared its election campaign to public frustration over Fatah's failure to achieve statehood and its reputation for corruption.
The Islamic group's charity network in the impoverished Gaza Strip and in the West Bank also boosted its popularity.
"Hamas did not win because people loved Hamas, but because people were taking revenge against the past years of Fatah rule," said Adel al-Helo, 41, a Gaza shopkeeper.
Leaders of the EU, the biggest donor to the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority, said that Hamas must renounce violence and recognize Israel or risk international isolation.
In Washington, Bush said Hamas's victory was a sign that Palestinians were unhappy with the status quo and showed democracy at work, which was positive for the Middle East.
But he stuck firmly to the U.S. view of Hamas as a terrorist group. It has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings in Israel since the latest uprising began over five years ago.
"I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform," Bush told a news conference. "You can't be a partner in peace if ... your party has got an armed wing."
The United States is the main sponsor of the long-stalled "road map," a peace plan that charts mutual steps toward the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Fatah advocates a two-state solution to the conflict.
"I am strongly committed to implementing the political program for which I was elected," said Abbas. "And this is based on the path of negotiations and a peaceful settlement to the conflict with Israel."
Commentators in the Arab world predicted that pragmatism would eventually oblige Hamas to soften its position and Israel to talk to the new Palestinian leaders.
Hamas has largely respected a truce for nearly a year.
Despite weeks of armed chaos before the poll, voting in the first parliamentary election since 1996 was orderly, with about 900 foreign observers led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter looking on. Turnout was 78 percent of the 1.3 million voters.
(Additional reporting by Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Saul Hudson in Washington, Mark Trevelyan in Davos and Jonathan Wright in Cairo)
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Pentagon plan calls for new WMD task force: report
Fri Jan 27, 2006 01:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's latest strategy review proposes a new military unit that would prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction from states such as North Korea and Iran to terrorist groups, The Washington Times reported on Friday.
The WMD task force would be comprised of several hundred troops, including special operations forces and intelligence personnel, the Times said.
The Times said the proposal was included in the Pentagon's 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, a sweeping assessment of U.S. defense strategy Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will send to the White House and Congress on February 6.
Portions of an unclassified summary of the document were made available to The Washington Times, the newspaper said.
"A section on combating weapons of mass destruction said future U.S. military forces will have the capability to interdict and 'render safe' weapons of mass destruction before terrorists can use them," the newspaper reported.
A Pentagon spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the report.
The Times said Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita declined to comment on the strategy review which has not been made public.
"We have over the past few years focused on ways of having a standing and rapidly deployable task force," DiRita was quoted as saying. "It's something that can respond quickly to a tough problem."
The Times said the Pentagon review stated that a core element of the new joint task force would be the Army's 20th Support Command, which would become a rapid deployment unit "to command and control WMD elimination missions by 2007."
"They will possess an expanded ability to locate, tag and track dangerous individuals and other high value targets globally," the review was quoted as saying.
Defense officials this week confirmed the planning document calls for the addition of nearly 8,000 troops to its elite Special Operations Forces next year to bolster the U.S. military's ability to fight terrorists and insurgents worldwide.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
© Reuters 2006
Fri Jan 27, 2006 01:00 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's latest strategy review proposes a new military unit that would prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction from states such as North Korea and Iran to terrorist groups, The Washington Times reported on Friday.
The WMD task force would be comprised of several hundred troops, including special operations forces and intelligence personnel, the Times said.
The Times said the proposal was included in the Pentagon's 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, a sweeping assessment of U.S. defense strategy Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will send to the White House and Congress on February 6.
Portions of an unclassified summary of the document were made available to The Washington Times, the newspaper said.
"A section on combating weapons of mass destruction said future U.S. military forces will have the capability to interdict and 'render safe' weapons of mass destruction before terrorists can use them," the newspaper reported.
A Pentagon spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the report.
The Times said Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita declined to comment on the strategy review which has not been made public.
"We have over the past few years focused on ways of having a standing and rapidly deployable task force," DiRita was quoted as saying. "It's something that can respond quickly to a tough problem."
The Times said the Pentagon review stated that a core element of the new joint task force would be the Army's 20th Support Command, which would become a rapid deployment unit "to command and control WMD elimination missions by 2007."
"They will possess an expanded ability to locate, tag and track dangerous individuals and other high value targets globally," the review was quoted as saying.
Defense officials this week confirmed the planning document calls for the addition of nearly 8,000 troops to its elite Special Operations Forces next year to bolster the U.S. military's ability to fight terrorists and insurgents worldwide.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
© Reuters 2006
Most Americans Want Wiretapping Investigation
latest news and polls
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The opinions of Americans on their federal administration’s decision to monitor specific conversations are changing, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 51 per cent of respondents believe the government was wrong to wiretap telephone conversations between U.S. citizens and suspected terrorists without getting a court order, up five points since early January.
On Dec. 19, U.S. president George W. Bush defended a secret domestic electronic surveillance program that includes the wiretapping of the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties. The president’s remarks came in response to media reports that, since 2002, Bush has authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to operate this program without any judicial oversight.
In a Jan. 25 visit to the NSA in Maryland, Bush defended the program, saying, "We know that two of the hijackers who struck the Pentagon were inside the United States communicating with al-Qaeda operatives overseas. But we didn’t realize they were here plotting the attack until it was too late. (...) My predecessors have used the same constitutional authority on numerous occasions." 58 per cent of respondents believe a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate this matter.
Polling Data
As you may know, the Bush administration has been wiretapping telephone conversations between U.S. citizens living in the United States and suspected terrorists living in other countries without getting a court order allowing it to do so. Do you think the Bush administration was right or wrong in wiretapping these conversations without obtaining a court order?
Jan. 22
Jan. 8
Right
46%
50%
Wrong
51%
46%
No opinion
3%
4%
Do you think a special prosecutor should or should not be appointed to investigate this matter?
Yes, should
58%
No, should not
39%
No opinion
2%
Source: Gallup / CNN / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 506 American adults (First Question) and 500 American adults (Second Question), conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, 2006. Margin of error is 5 per cent.
latest news and polls
(Angus Reid Global Scan) – The opinions of Americans on their federal administration’s decision to monitor specific conversations are changing, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 51 per cent of respondents believe the government was wrong to wiretap telephone conversations between U.S. citizens and suspected terrorists without getting a court order, up five points since early January.
On Dec. 19, U.S. president George W. Bush defended a secret domestic electronic surveillance program that includes the wiretapping of the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties. The president’s remarks came in response to media reports that, since 2002, Bush has authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to operate this program without any judicial oversight.
In a Jan. 25 visit to the NSA in Maryland, Bush defended the program, saying, "We know that two of the hijackers who struck the Pentagon were inside the United States communicating with al-Qaeda operatives overseas. But we didn’t realize they were here plotting the attack until it was too late. (...) My predecessors have used the same constitutional authority on numerous occasions." 58 per cent of respondents believe a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate this matter.
Polling Data
As you may know, the Bush administration has been wiretapping telephone conversations between U.S. citizens living in the United States and suspected terrorists living in other countries without getting a court order allowing it to do so. Do you think the Bush administration was right or wrong in wiretapping these conversations without obtaining a court order?
Jan. 22
Jan. 8
Right
46%
50%
Wrong
51%
46%
No opinion
3%
4%
Do you think a special prosecutor should or should not be appointed to investigate this matter?
Yes, should
58%
No, should not
39%
No opinion
2%
Source: Gallup / CNN / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 506 American adults (First Question) and 500 American adults (Second Question), conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, 2006. Margin of error is 5 per cent.
'I don't know' Abramoff, Bush says USA Today
President Bush fended off questions Thursday about White House links to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and refused to release photos that show the two men together. "I don't know him," Bush said. "I had my picture taken with him, evidently," Bush said at a White House news conference. "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with them or know them very well." "It's part of the job of the president to shake hands ... with people and smile," he said. Speaking in a wide-ranging, 46-minute news conference, Bush also renewed his defense of a program he approved to eavesdrop without a court order on terrorism suspects' international calls into or out of the USA. "As I stand here right now, I can tell the American people the program is legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," he said.
Bush downplays Abramoff photos, again defends NSA eavesdropping San Diego Union Tribune
Majority Believe White House Should Release Abramoff Records Washington Post
Detroit Free Press - ABC News - WJZ - New York Daily News - all 422 related »
President Bush fended off questions Thursday about White House links to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and refused to release photos that show the two men together. "I don't know him," Bush said. "I had my picture taken with him, evidently," Bush said at a White House news conference. "I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with them or know them very well." "It's part of the job of the president to shake hands ... with people and smile," he said. Speaking in a wide-ranging, 46-minute news conference, Bush also renewed his defense of a program he approved to eavesdrop without a court order on terrorism suspects' international calls into or out of the USA. "As I stand here right now, I can tell the American people the program is legal, it's designed to protect civil liberties, and it's necessary," he said.
Bush downplays Abramoff photos, again defends NSA eavesdropping San Diego Union Tribune
Majority Believe White House Should Release Abramoff Records Washington Post
Detroit Free Press - ABC News - WJZ - New York Daily News - all 422 related »
2,400-foot tunnel 'beats them all' San Diego Union Tribune
Soto and Leslie Berestein. In the corner of a cavernous Otay Mesa warehouse, a small room held a big secret: the door to a passageway from Mexico. US agents had been investigating the possibility of an elaborate drug-smuggling tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego for more than a year, but couldn't find it despite using military equipment so advanced it's classified. Instead, as often happens with drug cases, the break came from tips. The tips led to the discovery of the longest cross-border tunnel in U.S. history, running nearly a half-mile from a small warehouse near Tijuana's airport to the large Otay Mesa warehouse. “This tunnel beats them all,” said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which investigated the case along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Border Patrol.
Officials Find Drug Tunnel With Surprising Amenities New York Times
Tunnel Found on Mexican Border Washington Post
Bloomberg - BBC News - San Jose Mercury News - Xinhua - all 420 related »
Soto and Leslie Berestein. In the corner of a cavernous Otay Mesa warehouse, a small room held a big secret: the door to a passageway from Mexico. US agents had been investigating the possibility of an elaborate drug-smuggling tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego for more than a year, but couldn't find it despite using military equipment so advanced it's classified. Instead, as often happens with drug cases, the break came from tips. The tips led to the discovery of the longest cross-border tunnel in U.S. history, running nearly a half-mile from a small warehouse near Tijuana's airport to the large Otay Mesa warehouse. “This tunnel beats them all,” said Michael Unzueta, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which investigated the case along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Border Patrol.
Officials Find Drug Tunnel With Surprising Amenities New York Times
Tunnel Found on Mexican Border Washington Post
Bloomberg - BBC News - San Jose Mercury News - Xinhua - all 420 related »
January 27, 2006
U.S. Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in Three Years
By VIKAS BAJAJ
The American economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the fourth quarter, the government reported today, as spending by consumers and the federal government weakened significantly.
The nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of domestically produced goods and services, increased at a 1.1 percent annual rate in the quarter, to $11.23 trillion, and the economy posted a 3.5 percent growth rate for the full year, the Commerce Department reported. This is the first of three estimates that the government releases and the revisions it makes can be significant.
Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter because sales of automobiles and other goods were known to have fallen significantly from earlier in the year. The economy grew at a 4.1 percent annual pace in the third quarter, 3.3 percent in the second and 3.8 percent in the first three months of last year.
The last time the economy grew at a slower pace was during the fourth quarter of 2002, when it posted a 0.2 percent gain because businesses and consumers still lacked a confidence in the recovery from the slowdown during 2000 and 2001.
Automobile sales tumbled 13.8 percent in the fourth quarter after the three domestic automakers ended deep discounts on cars and trucks in the summer and sharply higher gasoline prices cut into the sales of sport utility vehicles, which in 2005 fell to their lowest level since 1998.
Increased investments by businesses, which many forecasters had expected to bolster the economy in the absence of strong consumer spending, increased by 12.2 percent over all but fell short of expectations, especially in the categories of industrial equipment and software.
The government's military spending fell 13.1 percent. And a 9.1 percent surge in imports, which serves as a drain on economic growth, served to pull down overall growth by more than 1.18 percentage points.
"There is not much growth behind the curtain when all is said and done," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at J.P. Morgan's private client services group. He noted that growth would have been even slower had it not been for a buildup of business inventories during the quarter.
The report may give the Federal Reserve, whose policy making committee meets on Tuesday, reason to consider ending its 18-month campaign to raise its benchmark interest rate, now at 4.25 percent, after it reaches 4.5 percent or 4.75 percent, economists said. Ben S. Bernanke will take over from Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Fed on Wednesday.
"The silver lining in this is that the Fed should look at this and realize that this economy is not overheating," said David Kelly, a senior economic adviser at Putnam Investments, the mutual fund company.
Analysts said there are several reasons to expect the economy to bounce back in the first quarter. Government spending should increase because the war in Iraq and the huge investments in hurricane-devastated areas on the Gulf Coast. Mr. Kelly and other economists also believe that business investments, which they believe are stronger than the fourth-quarter report indicates, are poised to increase.
Businesses "are still not spending as fast as their profits are growing," Mr. Kelly said. "Businesses were really psychologically damaged from 2002 and 2003. As that psychological drag fades and they find themselves with the cash, I do expect spending to pick up."
Wall Street appears to hold a similarly benign view of the fourth quarter report. Early this afternoon, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was trading up 11.33 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,285.16, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 23.35 points, or 1 percent, to 2,306.35.
Separately, the Commerce Department said today that new home sales increased by 2.9 percent, to an annual pace of 1.27 million, in December, although median prices — half the homes sold for less, half for more — dropped by 3.4 percent, to $221,800, and inventories increased.
That new homes report, which is subject to a significant margin of error, bucks other data on existing home sales, which have fallen for three months in a row. Economists say a weaker housing sector will serve as a drag on the economy this year because of its impact on consumer spending on furniture, furnishings and other goods.
"Consumer spending growth in 2006 will be slower than in the last two or three years," Mr. Kelly said.
For American workers, the fourth quarter did hold some positive developments as inflation-adjusted disposable personal income rose 7 percent, after a decline of 0.2 percent in the third quarter. For the full year, disposable income increased 1.4 percent after last year's 3.4 percent gain.
Inflation as measured by the G.D.P. price index was 3 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 3.3 percent in the third quarter. Excluding food and energy, inflation rose to 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent.
Copyright 2006The New York Times
U.S. Economy Grows at Slowest Pace in Three Years
By VIKAS BAJAJ
The American economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the fourth quarter, the government reported today, as spending by consumers and the federal government weakened significantly.
The nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of domestically produced goods and services, increased at a 1.1 percent annual rate in the quarter, to $11.23 trillion, and the economy posted a 3.5 percent growth rate for the full year, the Commerce Department reported. This is the first of three estimates that the government releases and the revisions it makes can be significant.
Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter because sales of automobiles and other goods were known to have fallen significantly from earlier in the year. The economy grew at a 4.1 percent annual pace in the third quarter, 3.3 percent in the second and 3.8 percent in the first three months of last year.
The last time the economy grew at a slower pace was during the fourth quarter of 2002, when it posted a 0.2 percent gain because businesses and consumers still lacked a confidence in the recovery from the slowdown during 2000 and 2001.
Automobile sales tumbled 13.8 percent in the fourth quarter after the three domestic automakers ended deep discounts on cars and trucks in the summer and sharply higher gasoline prices cut into the sales of sport utility vehicles, which in 2005 fell to their lowest level since 1998.
Increased investments by businesses, which many forecasters had expected to bolster the economy in the absence of strong consumer spending, increased by 12.2 percent over all but fell short of expectations, especially in the categories of industrial equipment and software.
The government's military spending fell 13.1 percent. And a 9.1 percent surge in imports, which serves as a drain on economic growth, served to pull down overall growth by more than 1.18 percentage points.
"There is not much growth behind the curtain when all is said and done," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at J.P. Morgan's private client services group. He noted that growth would have been even slower had it not been for a buildup of business inventories during the quarter.
The report may give the Federal Reserve, whose policy making committee meets on Tuesday, reason to consider ending its 18-month campaign to raise its benchmark interest rate, now at 4.25 percent, after it reaches 4.5 percent or 4.75 percent, economists said. Ben S. Bernanke will take over from Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Fed on Wednesday.
"The silver lining in this is that the Fed should look at this and realize that this economy is not overheating," said David Kelly, a senior economic adviser at Putnam Investments, the mutual fund company.
Analysts said there are several reasons to expect the economy to bounce back in the first quarter. Government spending should increase because the war in Iraq and the huge investments in hurricane-devastated areas on the Gulf Coast. Mr. Kelly and other economists also believe that business investments, which they believe are stronger than the fourth-quarter report indicates, are poised to increase.
Businesses "are still not spending as fast as their profits are growing," Mr. Kelly said. "Businesses were really psychologically damaged from 2002 and 2003. As that psychological drag fades and they find themselves with the cash, I do expect spending to pick up."
Wall Street appears to hold a similarly benign view of the fourth quarter report. Early this afternoon, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was trading up 11.33 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,285.16, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 23.35 points, or 1 percent, to 2,306.35.
Separately, the Commerce Department said today that new home sales increased by 2.9 percent, to an annual pace of 1.27 million, in December, although median prices — half the homes sold for less, half for more — dropped by 3.4 percent, to $221,800, and inventories increased.
That new homes report, which is subject to a significant margin of error, bucks other data on existing home sales, which have fallen for three months in a row. Economists say a weaker housing sector will serve as a drag on the economy this year because of its impact on consumer spending on furniture, furnishings and other goods.
"Consumer spending growth in 2006 will be slower than in the last two or three years," Mr. Kelly said.
For American workers, the fourth quarter did hold some positive developments as inflation-adjusted disposable personal income rose 7 percent, after a decline of 0.2 percent in the third quarter. For the full year, disposable income increased 1.4 percent after last year's 3.4 percent gain.
Inflation as measured by the G.D.P. price index was 3 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 3.3 percent in the third quarter. Excluding food and energy, inflation rose to 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent.
Copyright 2006The New York Times
January 27, 2006
Republicans Clear the Way for Alito Vote
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:54 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito enjoys sufficient bipartisan support to surmount any Senate filibuster attempt by minority Democrats, Senate leaders said Friday.
A final vote making the New Jersey jurist the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice is scheduled for Tuesday, hours before President Bush gives his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation.
Democrats and Republicans alike said the 55-year-old conservative jurist will get more than the 60 votes need to cut off debate on the Senate floor Monday.
''Everyone knows there are not enough votes to support a filibuster,'' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Friday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the same thing on Thursday. ''A bipartisan majority will vote to confirm Judge Alito as Justice Alito,'' Frist said.
Alito's supporters already have those commitments, with 53 of the Republicans' 55-member majority and three Democrats -- Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- already publicly supporting his confirmation as the replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., also announced Friday he is ''leaning in favor of voting for'' the conservative judge. ''It is clear to me that a majority of the American people and the people I represent support his confirmation,'' he said after meeting with Alito in his office.
Senior Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska also threw his support to Alito. Stevens said he closely monitored Alito's commitment during his confirmation hearings to ''respect'' past rulings when it comes to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision.
''As I vote to confirm his nomination, I do so under the assumption that Judge Alito will uphold this commitment,'' said Stevens, who supports abortion rights.
Reid, who will vote on Monday with Democrats who want to filibuster Alito and against confirmation on Tuesday, said those votes are ''an opportunity to people to express their opinion on what a bad choice it was to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.''
As the floor debate ensued Friday, the leaders of the filibuster attempt -- Massachusetts Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry -- were trying to drum up support in their caucus for blocking Alito.
They were counting senators like Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Debbie Stabenow on their side. Other senators, including ranking Judiciary Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Charles Schumer of New York, head of the Senate Democrats' fundraising arm, did not say Thursday whether they supported the effort.
''There's some division in our caucus,'' Kennedy conceded. ''It's an uphill climb at the current time, but it's achievable.''
Many Democrats contended that Alito's confirmation would put individual rights and liberties in danger. The former federal prosecutor and lawyer for the Reagan administration would replace O'Connor, the court's first female justice and the swing vote on several 5-4 rulings that maintained abortion rights, preserved affirmative action and limited the application of the death penalty.
''The president has every right to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court,'' Kerry said. ''It's our right and our responsibility to oppose him vigorously and to fight against this radical upending of the Supreme Court.''
Asked if the administration was taking Kerry's call for a filibuster seriously, White House press secretary Scott McClellan chuckled on Friday and said: ''I think it was a historic day yesterday. It was the first ever call for a filibuster from the slopes of Davos, Switzerland.''
Republicans immediately began criticizing Democrats for even considering a filibuster.
''Continuing to threaten a filibuster, even after it is crystal clear that Democrats don't have the necessary votes to sustain their obstruction, is needless, strange and at odds with many of their fellow Democrats,'' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Bush urged the Senate to go ahead and put the 55-year-old judge from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the Supreme Court.
Alito ''understands the role of a judge is not to advance a personal and political agenda,'' the president said Thursday at the White House. ''He is a decent man. He's got a lot of experience and he deserves an up-or-down vote in the Senate.''
------
Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
------
On the Net:
Senate Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.senate.gov
Supreme Court: http://supremecourtus.gov
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press
Republicans Clear the Way for Alito Vote
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:54 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito enjoys sufficient bipartisan support to surmount any Senate filibuster attempt by minority Democrats, Senate leaders said Friday.
A final vote making the New Jersey jurist the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice is scheduled for Tuesday, hours before President Bush gives his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation.
Democrats and Republicans alike said the 55-year-old conservative jurist will get more than the 60 votes need to cut off debate on the Senate floor Monday.
''Everyone knows there are not enough votes to support a filibuster,'' Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Friday. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the same thing on Thursday. ''A bipartisan majority will vote to confirm Judge Alito as Justice Alito,'' Frist said.
Alito's supporters already have those commitments, with 53 of the Republicans' 55-member majority and three Democrats -- Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- already publicly supporting his confirmation as the replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., also announced Friday he is ''leaning in favor of voting for'' the conservative judge. ''It is clear to me that a majority of the American people and the people I represent support his confirmation,'' he said after meeting with Alito in his office.
Senior Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska also threw his support to Alito. Stevens said he closely monitored Alito's commitment during his confirmation hearings to ''respect'' past rulings when it comes to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision.
''As I vote to confirm his nomination, I do so under the assumption that Judge Alito will uphold this commitment,'' said Stevens, who supports abortion rights.
Reid, who will vote on Monday with Democrats who want to filibuster Alito and against confirmation on Tuesday, said those votes are ''an opportunity to people to express their opinion on what a bad choice it was to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.''
As the floor debate ensued Friday, the leaders of the filibuster attempt -- Massachusetts Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry -- were trying to drum up support in their caucus for blocking Alito.
They were counting senators like Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Debbie Stabenow on their side. Other senators, including ranking Judiciary Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Charles Schumer of New York, head of the Senate Democrats' fundraising arm, did not say Thursday whether they supported the effort.
''There's some division in our caucus,'' Kennedy conceded. ''It's an uphill climb at the current time, but it's achievable.''
Many Democrats contended that Alito's confirmation would put individual rights and liberties in danger. The former federal prosecutor and lawyer for the Reagan administration would replace O'Connor, the court's first female justice and the swing vote on several 5-4 rulings that maintained abortion rights, preserved affirmative action and limited the application of the death penalty.
''The president has every right to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court,'' Kerry said. ''It's our right and our responsibility to oppose him vigorously and to fight against this radical upending of the Supreme Court.''
Asked if the administration was taking Kerry's call for a filibuster seriously, White House press secretary Scott McClellan chuckled on Friday and said: ''I think it was a historic day yesterday. It was the first ever call for a filibuster from the slopes of Davos, Switzerland.''
Republicans immediately began criticizing Democrats for even considering a filibuster.
''Continuing to threaten a filibuster, even after it is crystal clear that Democrats don't have the necessary votes to sustain their obstruction, is needless, strange and at odds with many of their fellow Democrats,'' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Bush urged the Senate to go ahead and put the 55-year-old judge from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the Supreme Court.
Alito ''understands the role of a judge is not to advance a personal and political agenda,'' the president said Thursday at the White House. ''He is a decent man. He's got a lot of experience and he deserves an up-or-down vote in the Senate.''
------
Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
------
On the Net:
Senate Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.senate.gov
Supreme Court: http://supremecourtus.gov
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press
Justice Department: NSA Program to Detect and Prevent Terrorist Attacks: Myth v. Reality
1/27/2006 2:35:00 PM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by U.S. Department of Justice:
THE NSA PROGRAM TO DETECT AND PREVENT TERRORIST ATTACKS
MYTH V. REALITY
Myth: The NSA program is illegal.
Reality: The President's authority to authorize the terrorist surveillance program is firmly based both in his constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief, and in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed by Congress after the September 11 attacks.
-- As Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive, the President has legal authority under the Constitution to authorize the NSA terrorist surveillance program.
-- The Constitution makes protecting our Nation from foreign attack the President's most solemn duty and provides him with the legal authority to keep America safe.
-- It has long been recognized that the President has inherent authority to conduct warrantless surveillance to gather foreign intelligence even in peacetime. Every federal appellate court to rule on the question has concluded that the President has this authority and that it is consistent with the Constitution.
-- Since the Civil War, wiretaps aimed at collecting foreign intelligence have been authorized by Presidents, and the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes has been consistently cited and used when necessary.
-- Congress confirmed and supplemented the President's constitutional authority to authorize this program when it passed the AUMF.
-- The AUMF authorized the President to use "all necessary and appropriate military force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided in the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
-- In its Hamdi decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the AUMF also authorizes the "fundamental incident(s) of waging war." The history of warfare makes clear that electronic surveillance of the enemy is a fundamental incident to the use of military force.
-- A crucial responsibility of the President-charged by the AUMF and the Constitution-is to identify enemies who attacked us, especially if they are in the United States ready to strike against our Nation.
-- We are at war, and al Qaeda is not a conventional enemy. Since the September 11 attacks, it has promised again and again to deliver another, even more devastating attack on America. In the meantime, it has killed hundreds of innocent people around the world through large-scale attacks in Indonesia, Madrid, and London.
-- Al Qaeda's plans include infiltrating our cities and communities and plotting with affiliates abroad to kill innocent Americans.
-- The United States must use every tool available, consistent with the Constitution, to prevent and deter another al Qaeda attack, and the President has indicated his intent to do just that.
---
Myth: The NSA program is a domestic eavesdropping program used to spy on innocent Americans.
Reality: The NSA program is narrowly focused, aimed only at international calls and targeted at al Qaeda and related groups. Safeguards are in place to protect the civil liberties of ordinary Americans.
-- The program only applies to communications where one party is located outside of the United States.
-- The NSA terrorist surveillance program described by the President is only focused on members of Al Qaeda and affiliated groups. Communications are only intercepted if there is a reasonable basis to believe that one party to the communication is a member of al Qaeda, affiliated with al Qaeda, or a member of an organization affiliated with al Qaeda.
-- The program is designed to target a key tactic of al Qaeda: infiltrating foreign agents into the United States and controlling their movements through electronic communications, just as it did leading up to the September 11 attacks.
-- The NSA activities are reviewed and reauthorized approximately every 45 days. In addition, the General Counsel and Inspector General of the NSA monitor the program to ensure that it is operating properly and that civil liberties are protected, and the intelligence agents involved receive extensive training.
---
Myth: The NSA activities violate the Fourth Amendment.
Reality: The NSA program is consistent with the Constitution's protections of civil liberties, including the protections of the Fourth Amendment.
-- The Supreme Court has long held that the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches where "special needs, beyond the normal need for law enforcement," exist. Foreign intelligence collection, especially in a time of war when catastrophic attacks have already been launched inside the United States, falls within the special needs context.
-- As the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review has observed, the nature of the "emergency" posed by al Qaeda "takes the matter out of the realm of ordinary crime control."
-- The program easily meets the Court's reasonableness test for whether a warrant is required. The NSA activities described by the President are narrow in scope and aim, and the government has an overwhelming interest in detecting and preventing further catastrophic attacks on American soil.
---
Myth: The NSA program violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Reality: The NSA activities described by the President are consistent with FISA.
-- FISA expressly envisions a need for the President to conduct electronic surveillance outside of its provisions when a later statute authorizes that surveillance. The AUMF is such a statute.
-- The NSA activities come from the very center of the Commander-in-Chief power, and it would raise serious constitutional issues if FISA were read to allow Congress to interfere with the President's well-recognized, inherent constitutional authority. FISA can and should be read to avoid this.
---
Myth: The Administration could have used FISA but simply chose not to.
Reality: In the war on terrorism, it is sometimes imperative to detect -- reliably, immediately, and without delay -- whether an al Qaeda member or affiliate is in contact with someone in the United States. FISA is an extremely valuable tool in the war on terrorism, but it was passed in 1978 and there have been tremendous advances in technology since then.
-- The NSA program is an "early warning system" with only one purpose: to detect and prevent the next attack on the United States from foreign agents hiding in our midst. It is a program with a military nature that requires speed and agility.
-- The FISA process, by design, moves more slowly. It requires numerous lawyers, the preparation of legal briefs, approval from a Cabinet-level officer, certification from the National Security Advisor or another Senate-confirmed officer, and finally, the approval of an Article III judge. This is a good process for traditional domestic foreign intelligence monitoring, but when even 24 hours can make the difference between success and failure in preventing a terrorist attack, a faster process is needed.
---
Myth: FISA has "emergency authorizations" to allow 72-hour surveillance without a court order that the Administration could easily utilize.
Reality: There is a serious misconception about so-called "emergency authorizations" under FISA, which allow 72 hours of surveillance without a court order. FISA requires the Attorney General to determine in advance that a FISA application for that particular intercept will be fully supported and will be approved by the court before an emergency authorization can be granted, and the review process itself can and does take precious time.
-- The Justice Department does not approve emergency authorizations without knowing it will receive court approval within 72 hours.
-- To initiate surveillance under a FISA emergency authorization, it is not enough to rely on the best judgment of our intelligence officers alone. Those intelligence officers would have to get the sign-off of lawyers at the NSA that all provisions of FISA have been satisfied, then lawyers in the Department of Justice would have to be similarly satisfied, and finally, the Attorney General would have to be satisfied that the search meets the requirements of FISA. The government would have to be prepared to follow up with a full FISA application within 72 hours.
-- A typical FISA application involves a substantial process in its own right: The work of several lawyers; the preparation of a legal brief and supporting declarations; the approval of a Cabinet-level officer; a certification from the National Security Advisor, the Director of the FBI, or another designated Senate- confirmed officer; and, finally the approval of an Article III judge.
-- The FISA process makes perfect sense in almost all cases of foreign-intelligence monitoring in the United States. Although technology has changed dramatically since FISA was enacted, FISA remains a vital tool in the war on terrorism -- one that we are using to its fullest and will continue to use against al Qaeda and other foreign threats.
-- But the terrorist surveillance program operated by the NSA requires maximum speed and agility to achieve early warning, and even a very brief delay may make the difference between success and failure in detecting and preventing the next attack.
Throughout this document, "the terrorist surveillance program" and "the NSA program" refer to the NSA activities described by the President.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
1/27/2006 2:35:00 PM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by U.S. Department of Justice:
THE NSA PROGRAM TO DETECT AND PREVENT TERRORIST ATTACKS
MYTH V. REALITY
Myth: The NSA program is illegal.
Reality: The President's authority to authorize the terrorist surveillance program is firmly based both in his constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief, and in the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed by Congress after the September 11 attacks.
-- As Commander-in-Chief and Chief Executive, the President has legal authority under the Constitution to authorize the NSA terrorist surveillance program.
-- The Constitution makes protecting our Nation from foreign attack the President's most solemn duty and provides him with the legal authority to keep America safe.
-- It has long been recognized that the President has inherent authority to conduct warrantless surveillance to gather foreign intelligence even in peacetime. Every federal appellate court to rule on the question has concluded that the President has this authority and that it is consistent with the Constitution.
-- Since the Civil War, wiretaps aimed at collecting foreign intelligence have been authorized by Presidents, and the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes has been consistently cited and used when necessary.
-- Congress confirmed and supplemented the President's constitutional authority to authorize this program when it passed the AUMF.
-- The AUMF authorized the President to use "all necessary and appropriate military force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided in the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
-- In its Hamdi decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the AUMF also authorizes the "fundamental incident(s) of waging war." The history of warfare makes clear that electronic surveillance of the enemy is a fundamental incident to the use of military force.
-- A crucial responsibility of the President-charged by the AUMF and the Constitution-is to identify enemies who attacked us, especially if they are in the United States ready to strike against our Nation.
-- We are at war, and al Qaeda is not a conventional enemy. Since the September 11 attacks, it has promised again and again to deliver another, even more devastating attack on America. In the meantime, it has killed hundreds of innocent people around the world through large-scale attacks in Indonesia, Madrid, and London.
-- Al Qaeda's plans include infiltrating our cities and communities and plotting with affiliates abroad to kill innocent Americans.
-- The United States must use every tool available, consistent with the Constitution, to prevent and deter another al Qaeda attack, and the President has indicated his intent to do just that.
---
Myth: The NSA program is a domestic eavesdropping program used to spy on innocent Americans.
Reality: The NSA program is narrowly focused, aimed only at international calls and targeted at al Qaeda and related groups. Safeguards are in place to protect the civil liberties of ordinary Americans.
-- The program only applies to communications where one party is located outside of the United States.
-- The NSA terrorist surveillance program described by the President is only focused on members of Al Qaeda and affiliated groups. Communications are only intercepted if there is a reasonable basis to believe that one party to the communication is a member of al Qaeda, affiliated with al Qaeda, or a member of an organization affiliated with al Qaeda.
-- The program is designed to target a key tactic of al Qaeda: infiltrating foreign agents into the United States and controlling their movements through electronic communications, just as it did leading up to the September 11 attacks.
-- The NSA activities are reviewed and reauthorized approximately every 45 days. In addition, the General Counsel and Inspector General of the NSA monitor the program to ensure that it is operating properly and that civil liberties are protected, and the intelligence agents involved receive extensive training.
---
Myth: The NSA activities violate the Fourth Amendment.
Reality: The NSA program is consistent with the Constitution's protections of civil liberties, including the protections of the Fourth Amendment.
-- The Supreme Court has long held that the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless searches where "special needs, beyond the normal need for law enforcement," exist. Foreign intelligence collection, especially in a time of war when catastrophic attacks have already been launched inside the United States, falls within the special needs context.
-- As the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review has observed, the nature of the "emergency" posed by al Qaeda "takes the matter out of the realm of ordinary crime control."
-- The program easily meets the Court's reasonableness test for whether a warrant is required. The NSA activities described by the President are narrow in scope and aim, and the government has an overwhelming interest in detecting and preventing further catastrophic attacks on American soil.
---
Myth: The NSA program violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Reality: The NSA activities described by the President are consistent with FISA.
-- FISA expressly envisions a need for the President to conduct electronic surveillance outside of its provisions when a later statute authorizes that surveillance. The AUMF is such a statute.
-- The NSA activities come from the very center of the Commander-in-Chief power, and it would raise serious constitutional issues if FISA were read to allow Congress to interfere with the President's well-recognized, inherent constitutional authority. FISA can and should be read to avoid this.
---
Myth: The Administration could have used FISA but simply chose not to.
Reality: In the war on terrorism, it is sometimes imperative to detect -- reliably, immediately, and without delay -- whether an al Qaeda member or affiliate is in contact with someone in the United States. FISA is an extremely valuable tool in the war on terrorism, but it was passed in 1978 and there have been tremendous advances in technology since then.
-- The NSA program is an "early warning system" with only one purpose: to detect and prevent the next attack on the United States from foreign agents hiding in our midst. It is a program with a military nature that requires speed and agility.
-- The FISA process, by design, moves more slowly. It requires numerous lawyers, the preparation of legal briefs, approval from a Cabinet-level officer, certification from the National Security Advisor or another Senate-confirmed officer, and finally, the approval of an Article III judge. This is a good process for traditional domestic foreign intelligence monitoring, but when even 24 hours can make the difference between success and failure in preventing a terrorist attack, a faster process is needed.
---
Myth: FISA has "emergency authorizations" to allow 72-hour surveillance without a court order that the Administration could easily utilize.
Reality: There is a serious misconception about so-called "emergency authorizations" under FISA, which allow 72 hours of surveillance without a court order. FISA requires the Attorney General to determine in advance that a FISA application for that particular intercept will be fully supported and will be approved by the court before an emergency authorization can be granted, and the review process itself can and does take precious time.
-- The Justice Department does not approve emergency authorizations without knowing it will receive court approval within 72 hours.
-- To initiate surveillance under a FISA emergency authorization, it is not enough to rely on the best judgment of our intelligence officers alone. Those intelligence officers would have to get the sign-off of lawyers at the NSA that all provisions of FISA have been satisfied, then lawyers in the Department of Justice would have to be similarly satisfied, and finally, the Attorney General would have to be satisfied that the search meets the requirements of FISA. The government would have to be prepared to follow up with a full FISA application within 72 hours.
-- A typical FISA application involves a substantial process in its own right: The work of several lawyers; the preparation of a legal brief and supporting declarations; the approval of a Cabinet-level officer; a certification from the National Security Advisor, the Director of the FBI, or another designated Senate- confirmed officer; and, finally the approval of an Article III judge.
-- The FISA process makes perfect sense in almost all cases of foreign-intelligence monitoring in the United States. Although technology has changed dramatically since FISA was enacted, FISA remains a vital tool in the war on terrorism -- one that we are using to its fullest and will continue to use against al Qaeda and other foreign threats.
-- But the terrorist surveillance program operated by the NSA requires maximum speed and agility to achieve early warning, and even a very brief delay may make the difference between success and failure in detecting and preventing the next attack.
Throughout this document, "the terrorist surveillance program" and "the NSA program" refer to the NSA activities described by the President.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
Democrats Scold White House Over Spying
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 20, 7:17 PM ET
Democratic senators took the Bush administration to task Friday for four years of domestic spying, while the president fought back with a planned embrace of the intelligence agency that is carrying out the effort.
In preparation for Senate hearings, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts noted that President Bush asserted in 2004 that "when we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."
That Bush statement came at the same time the National Security Agency was engaging — at the president's direction — in warrantless eavesdropping on Americans.
"If President Bush can make his own rules for domestic surveillance, Big Brother has run amok," Kennedy said in a statement.
Introducing a proposed Senate resolution, Kennedy and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont rejected White House assertions that congressional action after Sept. 11 authorized warrantless eavesdropping inside the United States.
A joint resolution of Congress authorized the use of force against those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, but it "says nothing about domestic electronic surveillance," Kennedy declared.
Pushing back, Bush plans a Wednesday visit to the NSA, where he will reassert his claim that he has the constitutional authority to let intelligence officials listen in on international phone calls of Americans with suspected ties to terrorists.
"We are stepping up our efforts to educate the American people," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of the trip to the NSA, based at Fort Meade in Maryland. McClellan called the program "a critical tool that helps us save lives and prevent attacks. It is limited and targeted to al-Qaida communications, with the focus being on detection and prevention."
Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said the new audio tape of Osama bin Laden threatening attacks on American soil "is a vivid reminder why we must continue to intercept communications between al-Qaida overseas and potential operatives in the United States."
On Monday, deputy national intelligence director Mike Hayden, who led the National Security Agency when the program began in October 2001, will speak on the issue at the National Press Club.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is delivering a speech on the program in Washington.
Gonzales also plans to testify Feb. 6 about the secret program before the Senate Judiciary Committee where Kennedy and Leahy are members.
House Democrats said Bush has committed a crime in authorizing the spying and that House Republicans have abdicated their responsibilities by refusing to hold hearings.
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record), the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, and other Democrats met in a basement room of a House office building Friday to hear a panel of lawyers and activists discuss whether Bush had committed an impeachable offense.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department on Wednesday issued a 42-page legal justification for the eavesdropping program, an expanded version of a document the agency sent Congress last month.
"Making their argument longer didn't make it any better," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., a Judiciary Committee member. He said Bush's secret approval of warrantless eavesdropping had made congressional debate on the Patriot Act meaningless.
The NSA's warrantless eavesdropping program is "an intelligence operation in search of a legal rationale," said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.
"What the president ordered in this case was a crime," added Turley, who said House Republicans are establishing a terrible precedent by not holding oversight hearings.
To fend off criticism, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House spokesman Scott McClellan referred to statements by John Schmidt, a Clinton administration associate attorney general who defended the program.
Schmidt wrote last month in the Chicago Tribune that Bush's authorization of the NSA surveillance is consistent with court decisions and Justice Department positions under prior presidents.
___
AP White House reporter Deb Riechmann contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 20, 7:17 PM ET
Democratic senators took the Bush administration to task Friday for four years of domestic spying, while the president fought back with a planned embrace of the intelligence agency that is carrying out the effort.
In preparation for Senate hearings, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts noted that President Bush asserted in 2004 that "when we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."
That Bush statement came at the same time the National Security Agency was engaging — at the president's direction — in warrantless eavesdropping on Americans.
"If President Bush can make his own rules for domestic surveillance, Big Brother has run amok," Kennedy said in a statement.
Introducing a proposed Senate resolution, Kennedy and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont rejected White House assertions that congressional action after Sept. 11 authorized warrantless eavesdropping inside the United States.
A joint resolution of Congress authorized the use of force against those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, but it "says nothing about domestic electronic surveillance," Kennedy declared.
Pushing back, Bush plans a Wednesday visit to the NSA, where he will reassert his claim that he has the constitutional authority to let intelligence officials listen in on international phone calls of Americans with suspected ties to terrorists.
"We are stepping up our efforts to educate the American people," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of the trip to the NSA, based at Fort Meade in Maryland. McClellan called the program "a critical tool that helps us save lives and prevent attacks. It is limited and targeted to al-Qaida communications, with the focus being on detection and prevention."
Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said the new audio tape of Osama bin Laden threatening attacks on American soil "is a vivid reminder why we must continue to intercept communications between al-Qaida overseas and potential operatives in the United States."
On Monday, deputy national intelligence director Mike Hayden, who led the National Security Agency when the program began in October 2001, will speak on the issue at the National Press Club.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is delivering a speech on the program in Washington.
Gonzales also plans to testify Feb. 6 about the secret program before the Senate Judiciary Committee where Kennedy and Leahy are members.
House Democrats said Bush has committed a crime in authorizing the spying and that House Republicans have abdicated their responsibilities by refusing to hold hearings.
Rep. John Conyers (news, bio, voting record), the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, and other Democrats met in a basement room of a House office building Friday to hear a panel of lawyers and activists discuss whether Bush had committed an impeachable offense.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department on Wednesday issued a 42-page legal justification for the eavesdropping program, an expanded version of a document the agency sent Congress last month.
"Making their argument longer didn't make it any better," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., a Judiciary Committee member. He said Bush's secret approval of warrantless eavesdropping had made congressional debate on the Patriot Act meaningless.
The NSA's warrantless eavesdropping program is "an intelligence operation in search of a legal rationale," said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley.
"What the president ordered in this case was a crime," added Turley, who said House Republicans are establishing a terrible precedent by not holding oversight hearings.
To fend off criticism, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House spokesman Scott McClellan referred to statements by John Schmidt, a Clinton administration associate attorney general who defended the program.
Schmidt wrote last month in the Chicago Tribune that Bush's authorization of the NSA surveillance is consistent with court decisions and Justice Department positions under prior presidents.
___
AP White House reporter Deb Riechmann contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Associated Press
Update 14: State Dept. Review Aid to Palestinians
By BARRY SCHWEID , 01.27.2006, 02:25 PM
If Hamas takes control of the Palestinian government, as now appears likely, all U.S. aid to the Palestinian people will be put under review, the Bush administration said Friday.
"We do not and will not give money to a terrorist organization," proclaimed White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Said opposite number Sean McCormack at the State Department: "The law and our policies state that no money goes to terrorist organizations."
This year, the U.S. government is providing $150 million in U.S. assistance for Palestinian development and other needs, McCormack said. Another $84 million is distributed through the United Nations.
"The Palestinian people have humanitarian needs, they are a poor people," he said. But McCormack also said financial aid must be reviewed and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would take this up when she meets in London Monday with U.N., European and Russian officials.
Together, they form the so-called Quartet that developed a roadmap or blueprint designed to steer Israel and the Palestinians into peace talks.
But that process appears in peril with Hamas' strong showing and likely control of a future Palestinian government.
The toughest task facing the United States is determining whether the peace process can proceed, and if so, how. The administration would have to find a way to negotiate with the Palestinians without talking directly to Hamas.
The militant Islamic group is sworn to destroy Israel and has conducted numerous terrorist operations against that country.
Urging Hamas to renounce terrorism, which the late Yasser Arafat did under U.S. urging in 1988, Bush said, "If your platform is the destruction of Israel it means you are not a partner in peace. And we're interested in peace."
At a White House news conference Thursday, Bush said a party that seeks Israel's destruction "is a party with which we will not deal." But he also said, "Peace is never dead because people want peace."
Bush himself had left open the possibility of halting aid to the Palestinians if their government winds up dominated by Hamas, a militant Islamic group listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. This year, the Palestinians are receiving $150 million for development programs on the West Bank and in Gaza.
The threat was echoed on Capitol Hill by a nonbinding Senate resolution condemning Hamas and expressing support for halting assistance to the Palestinian government.
The symbolic resolution, crafted by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., says aid should be ended if the party controlling the Palestinian parliament advocates the destruction of Israel, which Hamas does. It was unclear when the Senate would vote on the proposal.
Congress' reluctance to continue U.S. financial support was also illustrated by lawmakers' comments, including remarks by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
"Hamas has shown that it prefers terrorism against innocent civilians to pursue its political aims, and the United States should play no role in assisting a majority terrorist parliament," Hastert said in a statement.
In a similar warning, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., a member of the GOP House leadership, said, "If Hamas does not join the peaceful nations of the world at the table of cooperation and peace, the consequences will be the loss of America's support and funding for the Palestinians."
Other members of Congress were also critical of Hamas' victory over the more mainstream Fatah Party. And Bush called on Abbas to remain in office.
Abbas said he was committed to reaching peace with Israel and suggested talks would be conducted through the Palestine Liberation Organization, a possible way around a Hamas-led government.
Meanwhile, a senior Lebanese official said Friday that the militant Palestinian group Hamas "needs to move forward on how to make peace with Israel."
But Saad Hariri, who heads the majority bloc in Lebanon's parliament, said before seeing Bush at the White House that the Palestinians were victims of oppression and it was a decision for Hamas to make. "It will take time," he told reporters.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Update 14: State Dept. Review Aid to Palestinians
By BARRY SCHWEID , 01.27.2006, 02:25 PM
If Hamas takes control of the Palestinian government, as now appears likely, all U.S. aid to the Palestinian people will be put under review, the Bush administration said Friday.
"We do not and will not give money to a terrorist organization," proclaimed White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Said opposite number Sean McCormack at the State Department: "The law and our policies state that no money goes to terrorist organizations."
This year, the U.S. government is providing $150 million in U.S. assistance for Palestinian development and other needs, McCormack said. Another $84 million is distributed through the United Nations.
"The Palestinian people have humanitarian needs, they are a poor people," he said. But McCormack also said financial aid must be reviewed and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would take this up when she meets in London Monday with U.N., European and Russian officials.
Together, they form the so-called Quartet that developed a roadmap or blueprint designed to steer Israel and the Palestinians into peace talks.
But that process appears in peril with Hamas' strong showing and likely control of a future Palestinian government.
The toughest task facing the United States is determining whether the peace process can proceed, and if so, how. The administration would have to find a way to negotiate with the Palestinians without talking directly to Hamas.
The militant Islamic group is sworn to destroy Israel and has conducted numerous terrorist operations against that country.
Urging Hamas to renounce terrorism, which the late Yasser Arafat did under U.S. urging in 1988, Bush said, "If your platform is the destruction of Israel it means you are not a partner in peace. And we're interested in peace."
At a White House news conference Thursday, Bush said a party that seeks Israel's destruction "is a party with which we will not deal." But he also said, "Peace is never dead because people want peace."
Bush himself had left open the possibility of halting aid to the Palestinians if their government winds up dominated by Hamas, a militant Islamic group listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization. This year, the Palestinians are receiving $150 million for development programs on the West Bank and in Gaza.
The threat was echoed on Capitol Hill by a nonbinding Senate resolution condemning Hamas and expressing support for halting assistance to the Palestinian government.
The symbolic resolution, crafted by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., says aid should be ended if the party controlling the Palestinian parliament advocates the destruction of Israel, which Hamas does. It was unclear when the Senate would vote on the proposal.
Congress' reluctance to continue U.S. financial support was also illustrated by lawmakers' comments, including remarks by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
"Hamas has shown that it prefers terrorism against innocent civilians to pursue its political aims, and the United States should play no role in assisting a majority terrorist parliament," Hastert said in a statement.
In a similar warning, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., a member of the GOP House leadership, said, "If Hamas does not join the peaceful nations of the world at the table of cooperation and peace, the consequences will be the loss of America's support and funding for the Palestinians."
Other members of Congress were also critical of Hamas' victory over the more mainstream Fatah Party. And Bush called on Abbas to remain in office.
Abbas said he was committed to reaching peace with Israel and suggested talks would be conducted through the Palestine Liberation Organization, a possible way around a Hamas-led government.
Meanwhile, a senior Lebanese official said Friday that the militant Palestinian group Hamas "needs to move forward on how to make peace with Israel."
But Saad Hariri, who heads the majority bloc in Lebanon's parliament, said before seeing Bush at the White House that the Palestinians were victims of oppression and it was a decision for Hamas to make. "It will take time," he told reporters.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Lake Butler mourns seven children killed in crash USA Today
This small north Florida town planned to gather Friday night for a candlelight vigil to mourn the seven children killed in this week's fiery crash and their grief-stricken grandfather, who died a short time later of a heart attack. Five children of Barbara and Terry Mann were killed in Wednesday's crash, along with two of their nieces. Their car was crushed and burst into flame's when a tractor-trailer slammed into them when they stopped behind a school bus. The children's ages were 1 to 15. Nine children on the bus were injured. Friends and relatives stopped Friday to pray and pay their respects at a flower-covered cross placed with seven teddy bears at the crash scene on a rural, two-lane highway. The truck driver, Alvin Wilkerson, has not been charged and the Florida Highway Patrol's investigation is continuing.
'Burden too big to bear' Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Fla. Crash Deaths Hit Town, Family Hard ABC News
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This small north Florida town planned to gather Friday night for a candlelight vigil to mourn the seven children killed in this week's fiery crash and their grief-stricken grandfather, who died a short time later of a heart attack. Five children of Barbara and Terry Mann were killed in Wednesday's crash, along with two of their nieces. Their car was crushed and burst into flame's when a tractor-trailer slammed into them when they stopped behind a school bus. The children's ages were 1 to 15. Nine children on the bus were injured. Friends and relatives stopped Friday to pray and pay their respects at a flower-covered cross placed with seven teddy bears at the crash scene on a rural, two-lane highway. The truck driver, Alvin Wilkerson, has not been charged and the Florida Highway Patrol's investigation is continuing.
'Burden too big to bear' Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Fla. Crash Deaths Hit Town, Family Hard ABC News
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Majority Believe White House Should Release Abramoff Records Washington Post
A strong bipartisan majority of the public believes President Bush should release records of meetings between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and White House staffers despite administration claims that media requests for details about those contacts amount to a "fishing expedition," according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey found that three in four--76 percent--of all Americans said Bush should disclose contacts between aides and Abramoff while 18 percent disagreed. Two in three Republicans joined with eight in 10 Democrats and political independents in favoring disclosure, according to the poll. At a Thursday news conference, the president declined to discuss those meetings but said federal investigators are "welcome" to look into them if they suspect wrongdoing. Last week, Bush press secretary Scott McClellan, pressured by reporters to explain Abramoff's contacts with the Bush administration, said, "We're not going to engage in a fishing expedition."
The President Speaks About the Abramoff Photos TIME
Bush downplays Abramoff photos, again defends NSA eavesdropping San Diego Union Tribune
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A strong bipartisan majority of the public believes President Bush should release records of meetings between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and White House staffers despite administration claims that media requests for details about those contacts amount to a "fishing expedition," according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey found that three in four--76 percent--of all Americans said Bush should disclose contacts between aides and Abramoff while 18 percent disagreed. Two in three Republicans joined with eight in 10 Democrats and political independents in favoring disclosure, according to the poll. At a Thursday news conference, the president declined to discuss those meetings but said federal investigators are "welcome" to look into them if they suspect wrongdoing. Last week, Bush press secretary Scott McClellan, pressured by reporters to explain Abramoff's contacts with the Bush administration, said, "We're not going to engage in a fishing expedition."
The President Speaks About the Abramoff Photos TIME
Bush downplays Abramoff photos, again defends NSA eavesdropping San Diego Union Tribune
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In defense of US wiretaps Newsday
President George W. Bush offered a feisty defense of warrantless wiretapping yesterday, and it was the unabashed stance of a man seemingly confident the law - and the politics - are on his side. "There's no doubt in my mind it is legal," Bush said of the domestic surveillance program designed to listen in without a warrant on phone calls that might involve al-Qaida. That's a position not only key Democrats but also some conservative legal scholars reject. Some Republicans in Congress also say they're not convinced Bush is legally justified in carrying out the program and have called a Feb. 6 hearing. At the same time, a new poll released today showed that many Americans back Bush's wiretapping effort - and that nearly half wouldn't mind if their own phones were monitored as part of the anti-terror fight. During a White House news conference, Bush rejected criticism that he has overstepped his authority as president by ordering secret eavesdropping at a time of war.
New Poll Finds Mixed Support for Wiretaps New York Times
US. govt' eavesdropping has mixed support in poll Reuters AlertNet
Washington Post - Bloomberg - CBS News - Boston Globe - all 237 related »
President George W. Bush offered a feisty defense of warrantless wiretapping yesterday, and it was the unabashed stance of a man seemingly confident the law - and the politics - are on his side. "There's no doubt in my mind it is legal," Bush said of the domestic surveillance program designed to listen in without a warrant on phone calls that might involve al-Qaida. That's a position not only key Democrats but also some conservative legal scholars reject. Some Republicans in Congress also say they're not convinced Bush is legally justified in carrying out the program and have called a Feb. 6 hearing. At the same time, a new poll released today showed that many Americans back Bush's wiretapping effort - and that nearly half wouldn't mind if their own phones were monitored as part of the anti-terror fight. During a White House news conference, Bush rejected criticism that he has overstepped his authority as president by ordering secret eavesdropping at a time of war.
New Poll Finds Mixed Support for Wiretaps New York Times
US. govt' eavesdropping has mixed support in poll Reuters AlertNet
Washington Post - Bloomberg - CBS News - Boston Globe - all 237 related »
Mayor's hard line Newsday
Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared war on poverty in his State of the City address yesterday, announcing the creation of a task force to study innovative ways to fight poverty in neighborhoods where it is most entrenched and vowing to reduce the number of chronically poor New Yorkers. Bloomberg used the hour-long speech, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, to revisit familiar issues, including redevelopment and gun control, but also to amp up his calls for municipal unions to concede pension and health-care benefits and for developer Larry Silverstein to surrender his right to develop two of the World Trade Center towers in exchange for a reduction in rent. "We cannot allow the trade center to be a construction site for the next 15 years," he said. "We need this now, to advance our economy and pay tribute to those who died there - not a decade and a half in the future, when it fits a developer's financial plan." Janno Lieber, director of World Trade Center development for the Silverstein organization, told The Associated Press the group was not responsible for the delays. The calls for reduced benefits for city workers outraged Municipal Labor Committee head Randi Weingarten, who accused the mayor of extolling the importance of public health and then threatening to charge city workers for health insurance premiums for the first time. But others praised the mayor for staking out difficult ground. "I'm very impressed," said Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who lost a primary bid to unseat Bloomberg last year. "This is the time to do bold things. Much to his credit, he pointed out some of the gathering storm on the horizon." In Bloomberg's fifth annual address, which some City Council members criticized as short on specifics, he invoked partnerships with the private sector to help solve a broad swath of problems, proposing working with private companies for issues like underperforming schools and affordable housing.
From Bloomberg, Vow on Rebuilding and Unions New York Times
NYC's Bloomberg Seeks Faster Ground Zero Rebuilding Bloomberg
New York Daily News - New York Sun - Reuters - Forbes - all 137 related »
Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared war on poverty in his State of the City address yesterday, announcing the creation of a task force to study innovative ways to fight poverty in neighborhoods where it is most entrenched and vowing to reduce the number of chronically poor New Yorkers. Bloomberg used the hour-long speech, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, to revisit familiar issues, including redevelopment and gun control, but also to amp up his calls for municipal unions to concede pension and health-care benefits and for developer Larry Silverstein to surrender his right to develop two of the World Trade Center towers in exchange for a reduction in rent. "We cannot allow the trade center to be a construction site for the next 15 years," he said. "We need this now, to advance our economy and pay tribute to those who died there - not a decade and a half in the future, when it fits a developer's financial plan." Janno Lieber, director of World Trade Center development for the Silverstein organization, told The Associated Press the group was not responsible for the delays. The calls for reduced benefits for city workers outraged Municipal Labor Committee head Randi Weingarten, who accused the mayor of extolling the importance of public health and then threatening to charge city workers for health insurance premiums for the first time. But others praised the mayor for staking out difficult ground. "I'm very impressed," said Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who lost a primary bid to unseat Bloomberg last year. "This is the time to do bold things. Much to his credit, he pointed out some of the gathering storm on the horizon." In Bloomberg's fifth annual address, which some City Council members criticized as short on specifics, he invoked partnerships with the private sector to help solve a broad swath of problems, proposing working with private companies for issues like underperforming schools and affordable housing.
From Bloomberg, Vow on Rebuilding and Unions New York Times
NYC's Bloomberg Seeks Faster Ground Zero Rebuilding Bloomberg
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Brain-Damaged Girl Moved to Rehab Facility Forbes
A brain-damaged 11-year-old girl who was nearly removed from life support before she suddenly began breathing on her own was moved to a rehabilitation center Thursday. Haleigh Poutre had been hospitalized since September with severe brain injuries that authorities say were inflicted by her stepfather and adoptive mother. Less than two weeks ago, the state Department of Social Services won approval from the state's highest court to remove Haleigh from life support, saying she would never recover from her vegetative state. But a day later, she started showing signs of improvement, and she was weaned off her ventilator. Now, agency officials said, Haleigh can move her eyes toward where she hears a sound. "There's so much absolute hope now," department spokeswoman Denise Monteiro.
Romney appoints panel to probe Haleigh Poutre case Boston Globe
As girl hangs on to life, where are all the plug-pullers? Houston Chronicle
Boston Herald - The Weekly Standard - Ireland Online - all 131 related »
A brain-damaged 11-year-old girl who was nearly removed from life support before she suddenly began breathing on her own was moved to a rehabilitation center Thursday. Haleigh Poutre had been hospitalized since September with severe brain injuries that authorities say were inflicted by her stepfather and adoptive mother. Less than two weeks ago, the state Department of Social Services won approval from the state's highest court to remove Haleigh from life support, saying she would never recover from her vegetative state. But a day later, she started showing signs of improvement, and she was weaned off her ventilator. Now, agency officials said, Haleigh can move her eyes toward where she hears a sound. "There's so much absolute hope now," department spokeswoman Denise Monteiro.
Romney appoints panel to probe Haleigh Poutre case Boston Globe
As girl hangs on to life, where are all the plug-pullers? Houston Chronicle
Boston Herald - The Weekly Standard - Ireland Online - all 131 related »
Two on Navy Training Plane Crash in Texas Forbes
A Navy training plane with a pilot and student on board crashed and burned Friday in Corpus Christi, a military spokeswoman said. It wasn't immediately clear if they were able to bail out or if anyone on the ground was injured. Navy investigators were headed to the scene where the T-34 training jet went down, Navy spokeswoman Fifi Kieshnik said. The plane crashed during a routine training flight about 3 miles south of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, she said. The cause of accident under investigation. Earlier this month, a two-seat Navy T34 training plane was forced to make an emergency belly landing in the same area. Neither of that plane's two-member crew was injured.
Two Die in CC Navy Plane Crash WOAI
Pilot, student die in Navy training jet crash KRIS-TV
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A Navy training plane with a pilot and student on board crashed and burned Friday in Corpus Christi, a military spokeswoman said. It wasn't immediately clear if they were able to bail out or if anyone on the ground was injured. Navy investigators were headed to the scene where the T-34 training jet went down, Navy spokeswoman Fifi Kieshnik said. The plane crashed during a routine training flight about 3 miles south of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, she said. The cause of accident under investigation. Earlier this month, a two-seat Navy T34 training plane was forced to make an emergency belly landing in the same area. Neither of that plane's two-member crew was injured.
Two Die in CC Navy Plane Crash WOAI
Pilot, student die in Navy training jet crash KRIS-TV
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Calif. Hostage Standoff Ends Peacefully Forbes
Ending a 10 1/2-hour standoff, SWAT officers stormed a bank Thursday and seized a robber who had taken eight hostages with what turned out to be a pellet gun, authorities said. The officers moved in after using a pack of Kool cigarettes to trick the man into letting go of his last hostage in the pre-dawn hours. They left the cigarettes just outside the front door, and when he let the hostage retrieve them, officers pulled her to safety. No injuries were reported. "This is a great ending for everybody involved," sheriff's Lt. Keith Douglas said. Jess Martinez, 47, an unemployed car salesman, was being held on bank robbery and hostage-taking charges, according to police. He turned down a request by The Associated Press for an interview.
Visalia man held on charges of bank robbery, hostage-taking San Diego Union Tribune
Calif. Hostage Standoff Ends Peacefully ABC News
Reuters - AXcess News - San Francisco Chronicle - Independent Online - all 824 related »
Ending a 10 1/2-hour standoff, SWAT officers stormed a bank Thursday and seized a robber who had taken eight hostages with what turned out to be a pellet gun, authorities said. The officers moved in after using a pack of Kool cigarettes to trick the man into letting go of his last hostage in the pre-dawn hours. They left the cigarettes just outside the front door, and when he let the hostage retrieve them, officers pulled her to safety. No injuries were reported. "This is a great ending for everybody involved," sheriff's Lt. Keith Douglas said. Jess Martinez, 47, an unemployed car salesman, was being held on bank robbery and hostage-taking charges, according to police. He turned down a request by The Associated Press for an interview.
Visalia man held on charges of bank robbery, hostage-taking San Diego Union Tribune
Calif. Hostage Standoff Ends Peacefully ABC News
Reuters - AXcess News - San Francisco Chronicle - Independent Online - all 824 related »
General Says Troops in Iraq 'Stretched' ABC News
Top U.S. Commander in Iraq Acknowledges Army `stretched' but Says It Can Accomplish Its Mission. The top U.S. commander in Iraq acknowledged on Thursday that the U.S. Army was stretched but insisted forces here were capable of accomplishing their mission and any recommendation to reduce troops further would be dictated by the situation on the battlefield. U.S. officials said Gen. George Casey was speaking about the Army in general and not specifically about the 136,000-strong force in Iraq. However, his comments are likely to fuel a debate inside the U.S. government over whether the United States can sustain the fight long enough to break the back of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency. "The forces are stretched … and I don't think there's any question of that," Casey told reporters. "But the Army has been for the last several years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and more ready units."
A fuel tanker burns after being hit with gunfire from unknown attackers, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. No one was reported injured in the attack. (AP Photo/Asaad Muhsin)
Casey said he had discussed manpower strains with Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker on Wednesday and that the Army chief of staff feels he can sustain missions around the world. Casey was adamant that the troops in Iraq were getting the job done. "So, yep, folks are stretched here but they certainly accomplish their mission, and the forces that you've seen on the ground are absolutely magnificent," Casey added. In Washington, President Bush brushed aside talk that the United States could not prevail in Iraq. "If the question is whether or not we can win victory in Iraq, our commanders will have the troops necessary to do that. If the question is, Can we help keep the peace in a place like the Far East? Absolutely," Bush told reporters. "And let me use the Far East as an example of what I'm talking about," the president continued. "There were some 30,000 on the South Korean peninsula. As you might remember, we reduced the amount of manpower and replaced it with technology." Meanwhile, the U.S. command announced that two more American soldiers died Wednesday one in a bombing south of Baghdad and a second of wounds suffered in a rocket attack in Ramadi. At least 2,238 members of the U.S. military have died since the war began, according to an Associated Press count. At least 11 Iraqis were killed Thursday in attacks around the country, police said. Also Thursday, the military released five Iraqi women detainees, a move demanded by the kidnappers of American reporter Jill Carroll. Officials said the women were part of a group of about 420 Iraqis to be released Thursday and Friday and that their freedom was not connected to efforts to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on Jan. 7. However, Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said intensive efforts were under way to release Carroll, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, and "God willing, that she will be released." Casey spoke after attending a ceremony in which Polish troops transferred leadership of the south-central region of Iraq to Iraqi forces, the first such large-scale handover since the conflict began in 2003. The transfer of authority for the sector, which includes about 25 percent of the country, was part of a larger strategy by the U.S.-led coalition to build up Iraqi forces and give them greater role in security a move that could enable American and other international troops to draw down. In a study for the Pentagon, Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to crush the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disputed reports that the military was overextended, suggesting Wednesday that talk of an overburdened force was "either out of date or just misdirected." Pentagon officials announced this week that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has been cut to about 136,000 their lowest level since last summer. Two years ago the U.S. force dropped to about 110,000 but was boosted after insurgent violence spiked. Last month, Casey said he expects the troop levels to be brought to about 130,000 by the beginning of March and that more cuts could be made later in the year if conditions permit and more Iraqi soldiers finish their training. At least 11 Iraqis were killed Thursday in attacks around the country, police said. Also Thursday, the military released five Iraqi women detainees, a move demanded by the kidnappers of American reporter Jill Carroll. Officials said the women were part of a group of about 420 Iraqis to be released Thursday and Friday and that their freedom was not connected to efforts to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on Jan. 7. However, Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said intensive efforts were under way to release Carroll, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, and "God willing, that she will be released." Casey spoke after attending a ceremony in which Polish troops transferred leadership of the south-central region of Iraq to Iraqi forces, the first such large-scale handover since the conflict began in 2003. The transfer of authority for the sector, which includes about 25 percent of the country, was part of a larger strategy by the U.S.-led coalition to build up Iraqi forces and give them greater role in security a move that could enable American and other international troops to draw down. In a study for the Pentagon, Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to crush the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disputed reports that the military was overextended, suggesting Wednesday that talk of an overburdened force was "either out of date or just misdirected." Pentagon officials announced this week that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has been cut to about 136,000 their lowest level since last summer. Two years ago the U.S. force dropped to about 110,000 but was boosted after insurgent violence spiked. Last month, Casey said he expects the troop levels to be brought to about 130,000 by the beginning of March and that more cuts could be made later in the year if conditions permit and more Iraqi soldiers finish their training.
`Forces are stretched,' top US general in Iraq says San Jose Mercury News
Top US commander in Iraq admits troops stretched Xinhua
TIME - Special Broadcasting Service - Boston Globe - Christian Science Monitor - all 1,026 related »
Top U.S. Commander in Iraq Acknowledges Army `stretched' but Says It Can Accomplish Its Mission. The top U.S. commander in Iraq acknowledged on Thursday that the U.S. Army was stretched but insisted forces here were capable of accomplishing their mission and any recommendation to reduce troops further would be dictated by the situation on the battlefield. U.S. officials said Gen. George Casey was speaking about the Army in general and not specifically about the 136,000-strong force in Iraq. However, his comments are likely to fuel a debate inside the U.S. government over whether the United States can sustain the fight long enough to break the back of the Sunni Arab-led insurgency. "The forces are stretched … and I don't think there's any question of that," Casey told reporters. "But the Army has been for the last several years going through a modernization strategy that will produce more units and more ready units."
A fuel tanker burns after being hit with gunfire from unknown attackers, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. No one was reported injured in the attack. (AP Photo/Asaad Muhsin)
Casey said he had discussed manpower strains with Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker on Wednesday and that the Army chief of staff feels he can sustain missions around the world. Casey was adamant that the troops in Iraq were getting the job done. "So, yep, folks are stretched here but they certainly accomplish their mission, and the forces that you've seen on the ground are absolutely magnificent," Casey added. In Washington, President Bush brushed aside talk that the United States could not prevail in Iraq. "If the question is whether or not we can win victory in Iraq, our commanders will have the troops necessary to do that. If the question is, Can we help keep the peace in a place like the Far East? Absolutely," Bush told reporters. "And let me use the Far East as an example of what I'm talking about," the president continued. "There were some 30,000 on the South Korean peninsula. As you might remember, we reduced the amount of manpower and replaced it with technology." Meanwhile, the U.S. command announced that two more American soldiers died Wednesday one in a bombing south of Baghdad and a second of wounds suffered in a rocket attack in Ramadi. At least 2,238 members of the U.S. military have died since the war began, according to an Associated Press count. At least 11 Iraqis were killed Thursday in attacks around the country, police said. Also Thursday, the military released five Iraqi women detainees, a move demanded by the kidnappers of American reporter Jill Carroll. Officials said the women were part of a group of about 420 Iraqis to be released Thursday and Friday and that their freedom was not connected to efforts to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on Jan. 7. However, Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said intensive efforts were under way to release Carroll, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, and "God willing, that she will be released." Casey spoke after attending a ceremony in which Polish troops transferred leadership of the south-central region of Iraq to Iraqi forces, the first such large-scale handover since the conflict began in 2003. The transfer of authority for the sector, which includes about 25 percent of the country, was part of a larger strategy by the U.S.-led coalition to build up Iraqi forces and give them greater role in security a move that could enable American and other international troops to draw down. In a study for the Pentagon, Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to crush the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disputed reports that the military was overextended, suggesting Wednesday that talk of an overburdened force was "either out of date or just misdirected." Pentagon officials announced this week that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has been cut to about 136,000 their lowest level since last summer. Two years ago the U.S. force dropped to about 110,000 but was boosted after insurgent violence spiked. Last month, Casey said he expects the troop levels to be brought to about 130,000 by the beginning of March and that more cuts could be made later in the year if conditions permit and more Iraqi soldiers finish their training. At least 11 Iraqis were killed Thursday in attacks around the country, police said. Also Thursday, the military released five Iraqi women detainees, a move demanded by the kidnappers of American reporter Jill Carroll. Officials said the women were part of a group of about 420 Iraqis to be released Thursday and Friday and that their freedom was not connected to efforts to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on Jan. 7. However, Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said intensive efforts were under way to release Carroll, a freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor, and "God willing, that she will be released." Casey spoke after attending a ceremony in which Polish troops transferred leadership of the south-central region of Iraq to Iraqi forces, the first such large-scale handover since the conflict began in 2003. The transfer of authority for the sector, which includes about 25 percent of the country, was part of a larger strategy by the U.S.-led coalition to build up Iraqi forces and give them greater role in security a move that could enable American and other international troops to draw down. In a study for the Pentagon, Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, concluded that the Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enough to crush the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon's decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disputed reports that the military was overextended, suggesting Wednesday that talk of an overburdened force was "either out of date or just misdirected." Pentagon officials announced this week that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq has been cut to about 136,000 their lowest level since last summer. Two years ago the U.S. force dropped to about 110,000 but was boosted after insurgent violence spiked. Last month, Casey said he expects the troop levels to be brought to about 130,000 by the beginning of March and that more cuts could be made later in the year if conditions permit and more Iraqi soldiers finish their training.
`Forces are stretched,' top US general in Iraq says San Jose Mercury News
Top US commander in Iraq admits troops stretched Xinhua
TIME - Special Broadcasting Service - Boston Globe - Christian Science Monitor - all 1,026 related »
US plans to 'fight the net' revealed
By Adam Brookes
BBC Pentagon correspondent
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
Propaganda
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans.
"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads.
"Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on.
The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write. But they don't seem to explain how.
"In this day and age it is impossible to prevent stories that are fed abroad as part of psychological operations propaganda from blowing back into the United States - even though they were directed abroad," says Kristin Adair of the National Security Archive.
Credibility problem
Public awareness of the US military's information operations is low, but it's growing - thanks to some operational clumsiness.
When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system
Late last year, it emerged that the Pentagon had paid a private company, the Lincoln Group, to plant hundreds of stories in Iraqi newspapers. The stories - all supportive of US policy - were written by military personnel and then placed in Iraqi publications.
And websites that appeared to be information sites on the politics of Africa and the Balkans were found to be run by the Pentagon.
But the true extent of the Pentagon's information operations, how they work, who they're aimed at, and at what point they turn from informing the public to influencing populations, is far from clear.
The roadmap, however, gives a flavour of what the US military is up to - and the grand scale on which it's thinking.
It reveals that Psyops personnel "support" the American government's international broadcasting. It singles out TV Marti - a station which broadcasts to Cuba - as receiving such support.
It recommends that a global website be established that supports America's strategic objectives. But no American diplomats here, thank you. The website would use content from "third parties with greater credibility to foreign audiences than US officials".
It also recommends that Psyops personnel should consider a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory: unmanned aerial vehicles, "miniaturized, scatterable public address systems", wireless devices, cellular phones and the internet.
'Fight the net'
When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone.
It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system.
"Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads.
The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap.
The authors warn that US networks are very vulnerable to attack by hackers, enemies seeking to disable them, or spies looking for intelligence.
"Networks are growing faster than we can defend them... Attack sophistication is increasing... Number of events is increasing."
US digital ambition
And, in a grand finale, the document recommends that the United States should seek the ability to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum".
US forces should be able to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum".
Consider that for a moment.
The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet.
Are these plans the pipe dreams of self-aggrandising bureaucrats? Or are they real?
The fact that the "Information Operations Roadmap" is approved by the Secretary of Defense suggests that these plans are taken very seriously indeed in the Pentagon.
And that the scale and grandeur of the digital revolution is matched only by the US military's ambitions for it.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm
Published: 2006/01/27 18:05:49 GMT
© BBC MMVI
By Adam Brookes
BBC Pentagon correspondent
A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.
Bloggers beware.
As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.
From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.
The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.
Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it.
Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare.
The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance.
Propaganda
The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks.
All these are engaged in information operations.
Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans.
"Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads.
"Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on.
The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write. But they don't seem to explain how.
"In this day and age it is impossible to prevent stories that are fed abroad as part of psychological operations propaganda from blowing back into the United States - even though they were directed abroad," says Kristin Adair of the National Security Archive.
Credibility problem
Public awareness of the US military's information operations is low, but it's growing - thanks to some operational clumsiness.
When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system
Late last year, it emerged that the Pentagon had paid a private company, the Lincoln Group, to plant hundreds of stories in Iraqi newspapers. The stories - all supportive of US policy - were written by military personnel and then placed in Iraqi publications.
And websites that appeared to be information sites on the politics of Africa and the Balkans were found to be run by the Pentagon.
But the true extent of the Pentagon's information operations, how they work, who they're aimed at, and at what point they turn from informing the public to influencing populations, is far from clear.
The roadmap, however, gives a flavour of what the US military is up to - and the grand scale on which it's thinking.
It reveals that Psyops personnel "support" the American government's international broadcasting. It singles out TV Marti - a station which broadcasts to Cuba - as receiving such support.
It recommends that a global website be established that supports America's strategic objectives. But no American diplomats here, thank you. The website would use content from "third parties with greater credibility to foreign audiences than US officials".
It also recommends that Psyops personnel should consider a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory: unmanned aerial vehicles, "miniaturized, scatterable public address systems", wireless devices, cellular phones and the internet.
'Fight the net'
When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone.
It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system.
"Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads.
The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap.
The authors warn that US networks are very vulnerable to attack by hackers, enemies seeking to disable them, or spies looking for intelligence.
"Networks are growing faster than we can defend them... Attack sophistication is increasing... Number of events is increasing."
US digital ambition
And, in a grand finale, the document recommends that the United States should seek the ability to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum".
US forces should be able to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum".
Consider that for a moment.
The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet.
Are these plans the pipe dreams of self-aggrandising bureaucrats? Or are they real?
The fact that the "Information Operations Roadmap" is approved by the Secretary of Defense suggests that these plans are taken very seriously indeed in the Pentagon.
And that the scale and grandeur of the digital revolution is matched only by the US military's ambitions for it.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm
Published: 2006/01/27 18:05:49 GMT
© BBC MMVI
US Senate passes resolution condemning Iran Fri Jan 27, 6:24 PM ET
The U.S. Senate on Friday unanimously passed a resolution condemning Iran for its nuclear program and backing efforts to report it to the U.N. Security Council.
The resolution, approved by a voice vote, cites Iran's "many failures ... to comply faithfully with its nuclear non-proliferations obligations."
It "strongly urges" the International Atomic Energy Agency at its special meeting on Thursday to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over suspicions it is secretly trying to develop atomic bombs.
The resolution also calls on all Security Council members, particularly Russia and China, to "act expeditiously" to deal with Iran's suspected noncompliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, the five veto-wielding powers of the 15-member Security Council, plus Germany plan to meet in London on Monday to try to resolve differences over whether to send Iran to the council. Russia and China to date have opposed a formal referral.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
The U.S. Senate on Friday unanimously passed a resolution condemning Iran for its nuclear program and backing efforts to report it to the U.N. Security Council.
The resolution, approved by a voice vote, cites Iran's "many failures ... to comply faithfully with its nuclear non-proliferations obligations."
It "strongly urges" the International Atomic Energy Agency at its special meeting on Thursday to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over suspicions it is secretly trying to develop atomic bombs.
The resolution also calls on all Security Council members, particularly Russia and China, to "act expeditiously" to deal with Iran's suspected noncompliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, the five veto-wielding powers of the 15-member Security Council, plus Germany plan to meet in London on Monday to try to resolve differences over whether to send Iran to the council. Russia and China to date have opposed a formal referral.
Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Misfire leaves delegate gun-shy Roanoke Times
Del. Jack Reid accidently blasted a bullet into a bulletproof vest hanging on his Capitol office door. A state legislator accidently discharged a small handgun in his Capitol Square office Thursday morning, hitting a bulletproof vest that happened to be hanging on his door. Del. Jack Reid, R-Henrico County, publicly apologized on the floor of the House of Delegates and in private meetings with the chamber's Republican and Democratic caucuses. Reid suffered a cut on his hand in the accident, but there were no other injuries. Reid, 63, said the accident happened about 8:50 a.m, after he arrived at his seventh-floor legislative office in the General Assembly Building. The building was teeming with activity at the time, with legislators, staffers, lobbyists and citizens visiting offices and attending committee meetings.
Lawmaker Says Gun Went Off by Accident Los Angeles Times
Virginia lawmaker's gun discharges in office; bullet stopped by ... Daily Press
WRIC - NBC 17.com - Myrtle Beach Sun News - Virginian Pilot - all 161 related »
Del. Jack Reid accidently blasted a bullet into a bulletproof vest hanging on his Capitol office door. A state legislator accidently discharged a small handgun in his Capitol Square office Thursday morning, hitting a bulletproof vest that happened to be hanging on his door. Del. Jack Reid, R-Henrico County, publicly apologized on the floor of the House of Delegates and in private meetings with the chamber's Republican and Democratic caucuses. Reid suffered a cut on his hand in the accident, but there were no other injuries. Reid, 63, said the accident happened about 8:50 a.m, after he arrived at his seventh-floor legislative office in the General Assembly Building. The building was teeming with activity at the time, with legislators, staffers, lobbyists and citizens visiting offices and attending committee meetings.
Lawmaker Says Gun Went Off by Accident Los Angeles Times
Virginia lawmaker's gun discharges in office; bullet stopped by ... Daily Press
WRIC - NBC 17.com - Myrtle Beach Sun News - Virginian Pilot - all 161 related »
Hil's for filibuster New York Daily News
Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday backed a rebel band of Senate Dems seeking to filibuster a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito. Democratic leaders had warned that filibuster efforts were going nowhere and would let President Bush score easy political points, but Clinton said, "I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation." "I do not think Judge Alito would advance the principles Americans hold most dear," she said, adding she would vote against a move to cut off a filibuster should one occur. Any senator can filibuster - or command the floor to block a vote. It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture to end a filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made it clear earlier in the day that the party didn't have the votes to defeat a cloture vote, so a filibuster was doomed to failure. Nevertheless, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) have pushed for a filibuster, a move that delights Republicans. "If the Democratic left does a filibuster led by Kerry, that's found money for us," a top GOP official said. The filibuster tactic could have repercussions for Clinton. Her move is bound to be seen as an appeal to the liberal base that dominates the Democratic presidential primaries, following several Senate votes that could be seen as attempts to move to the center. In an interview on the "CBS Evening News," Bush said of Clinton's 2008 chances, "She's formidable." A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he had made no decision on a filibuster and declined comment on Clinton's move.
An uphill battle for filibuster votes Boston Globe
The filibuster fiasco Salon
Raw Story - Detroit Free Press - Washington Post - Miami Herald - all 2,016 related »
Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday backed a rebel band of Senate Dems seeking to filibuster a vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito. Democratic leaders had warned that filibuster efforts were going nowhere and would let President Bush score easy political points, but Clinton said, "I oppose his nomination and support efforts to block his confirmation." "I do not think Judge Alito would advance the principles Americans hold most dear," she said, adding she would vote against a move to cut off a filibuster should one occur. Any senator can filibuster - or command the floor to block a vote. It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture to end a filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made it clear earlier in the day that the party didn't have the votes to defeat a cloture vote, so a filibuster was doomed to failure. Nevertheless, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) have pushed for a filibuster, a move that delights Republicans. "If the Democratic left does a filibuster led by Kerry, that's found money for us," a top GOP official said. The filibuster tactic could have repercussions for Clinton. Her move is bound to be seen as an appeal to the liberal base that dominates the Democratic presidential primaries, following several Senate votes that could be seen as attempts to move to the center. In an interview on the "CBS Evening News," Bush said of Clinton's 2008 chances, "She's formidable." A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he had made no decision on a filibuster and declined comment on Clinton's move.
An uphill battle for filibuster votes Boston Globe
The filibuster fiasco Salon
Raw Story - Detroit Free Press - Washington Post - Miami Herald - all 2,016 related »
Insulin for inhalation approved in US Globe and Mail
The first inhaled version of insulin won US approval yesterday, offering an alternative for some of the daily shots millions of diabetics use to control blood sugar and prevent complications from the disease. The new product is a short-acting powder form of insulin that can be taken before meals. Many patients, including nearly all Type 1 diabetics, still will need to get long-acting insulin by injection, Food and Drug Administration officials said.
Pfizer inhaled insulin wins US approval Reuters
FDA approves inhaled form of insulin DetNews.com
Los Angeles Times - Seattle Post Intelligencer - Washington Post - Newsday - all 672 related »
The first inhaled version of insulin won US approval yesterday, offering an alternative for some of the daily shots millions of diabetics use to control blood sugar and prevent complications from the disease. The new product is a short-acting powder form of insulin that can be taken before meals. Many patients, including nearly all Type 1 diabetics, still will need to get long-acting insulin by injection, Food and Drug Administration officials said.
Pfizer inhaled insulin wins US approval Reuters
FDA approves inhaled form of insulin DetNews.com
Los Angeles Times - Seattle Post Intelligencer - Washington Post - Newsday - all 672 related »
GDP growth unexpected slows; home sales hot Reuters
The US economy ended 2005 on a surprisingly soft note as consumer spending grew at the slowest rate since 2001 and businesses were less eager to boost investment, a government report on Friday showed. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity within U.S. borders, expanded at a weak 1.1 percent annual rate in the October-December period -- little more than a quarter of the third quarter's 4.1 percent rate. It was the weakest growth rate for any three months since 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, much below what Wall Street had anticipated, and initially sent stock futures and the dollar tumbling and bond prices soaring. But later data showing new-home sales strengthened in December, together with speculation that some of the fourth-quarter slowdown might prove temporary, helped the stock market post sharp gains by midday. The GDP report surprised analysts, partly because it implied such widespread softness in key drivers of economic activity. Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of the economy, grew at only a 1.1 percent rate, sharply below the third-quarter rate and the weakest since a 1 percent gain in second quarter of 2001.
Spending Slowdown Curbs Growth Washington Post
US economic growth slows Globe and Mail
BusinessWeek - Bloomberg - Los Angeles Times - TheStreet.com (subscription) - all 391 related »
The US economy ended 2005 on a surprisingly soft note as consumer spending grew at the slowest rate since 2001 and businesses were less eager to boost investment, a government report on Friday showed. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity within U.S. borders, expanded at a weak 1.1 percent annual rate in the October-December period -- little more than a quarter of the third quarter's 4.1 percent rate. It was the weakest growth rate for any three months since 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, much below what Wall Street had anticipated, and initially sent stock futures and the dollar tumbling and bond prices soaring. But later data showing new-home sales strengthened in December, together with speculation that some of the fourth-quarter slowdown might prove temporary, helped the stock market post sharp gains by midday. The GDP report surprised analysts, partly because it implied such widespread softness in key drivers of economic activity. Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of the economy, grew at only a 1.1 percent rate, sharply below the third-quarter rate and the weakest since a 1 percent gain in second quarter of 2001.
Spending Slowdown Curbs Growth Washington Post
US economic growth slows Globe and Mail
BusinessWeek - Bloomberg - Los Angeles Times - TheStreet.com (subscription) - all 391 related »
Gates raises stakes in tuberculosis battle Sydney Morning Herald
Microsoft boss Bill Gates pledged on Friday to triple his funding to eradicating tuberculosis across the world as the World Economic Forum in Switzerland took aim at containing and eradicating illness. Gates joined British treasury chief Gordon Brown at the forum in Davos to announce the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis, an initiative for funding efforts against the disease in the developing world. Funding health care initiatives, at least with private money, had been problematic, Gates said. "In health, there's real problems in that the people who have these diseases don't have the money to justify the investment," he said at a seminar with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Some 15 million people die prematurely annually because of a lack of drugs. He said his Gates Foundation would triple the amount of money it has dedicated to TB research from $US300 million ($400 million) to $US900 million by 2015.
Gates pledges $900m for TB eradication Khaleej Times
Gates pledges $900m to fight against TB Guardian Unlimited
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Microsoft boss Bill Gates pledged on Friday to triple his funding to eradicating tuberculosis across the world as the World Economic Forum in Switzerland took aim at containing and eradicating illness. Gates joined British treasury chief Gordon Brown at the forum in Davos to announce the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis, an initiative for funding efforts against the disease in the developing world. Funding health care initiatives, at least with private money, had been problematic, Gates said. "In health, there's real problems in that the people who have these diseases don't have the money to justify the investment," he said at a seminar with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Some 15 million people die prematurely annually because of a lack of drugs. He said his Gates Foundation would triple the amount of money it has dedicated to TB research from $US300 million ($400 million) to $US900 million by 2015.
Gates pledges $900m for TB eradication Khaleej Times
Gates pledges $900m to fight against TB Guardian Unlimited
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Chevron Earnings Hit Record Los Angeles Times
Despite steep hurricane-related costs, oil giant Chevron Corp.'s profit jumped to a record $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter, boosted mostly by the same high oil, natural gas and gasoline prices that have stretched household budgets and enraged politicians over the last year. Chevron's quarterly earnings were up 20% compared with $3.4 billion a year earlier. However, the per-share results of $1.86, up from $1.63 a share in the fourth quarter of 2004, were 3 cents below analyst expectations, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
Rising Oil Prices Help Lift Chevron Profit to Quarterly Record New York Times
Chevron's profits up, but still miss Wall Street estimates San Jose Mercury News
Seattle Times - Reuters - Houston Chronicle - ABC News - all 196 related »
Despite steep hurricane-related costs, oil giant Chevron Corp.'s profit jumped to a record $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter, boosted mostly by the same high oil, natural gas and gasoline prices that have stretched household budgets and enraged politicians over the last year. Chevron's quarterly earnings were up 20% compared with $3.4 billion a year earlier. However, the per-share results of $1.86, up from $1.63 a share in the fourth quarter of 2004, were 3 cents below analyst expectations, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
Rising Oil Prices Help Lift Chevron Profit to Quarterly Record New York Times
Chevron's profits up, but still miss Wall Street estimates San Jose Mercury News
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As fears persist, oil prices head up Houston Chronicle
Crude oil futures climbed back above $67 a barrel Friday amid nagging supply fears linked to Iran's nuclear standoff and militant attacks in Nigeria. Adding to the bullish tone, Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali Naimi said prices are unlikely to fall in the near term, and OPEC's president suggested the global economy could live with $60 a barrel. But observers say OPEC is unlikely to alter its policy of pumping at full capacity when it meets in Vienna, Austria, next week, rejecting for now suggestions by Iran and Venezuela that it must cut its output to keep prices from dropping. Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March Brent crude futures in London rose $1.32 to settle at $66.24 a barrel. In New York, heating oil gained 2.89 cents to $1.8069 a gallon, while gasoline futures advanced by 5.21 cents to settle at $1.7364 a gallon. Natural gas rose 17.1 cents to $8.40 per million British thermal units.
Oil Prices: The New Reality BusinessWeek
Crude Oil Rises on Concern Iran Standoff May Disrupt Supplies Bloomberg
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Crude oil futures climbed back above $67 a barrel Friday amid nagging supply fears linked to Iran's nuclear standoff and militant attacks in Nigeria. Adding to the bullish tone, Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali Naimi said prices are unlikely to fall in the near term, and OPEC's president suggested the global economy could live with $60 a barrel. But observers say OPEC is unlikely to alter its policy of pumping at full capacity when it meets in Vienna, Austria, next week, rejecting for now suggestions by Iran and Venezuela that it must cut its output to keep prices from dropping. Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained $1.50 to settle at $67.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March Brent crude futures in London rose $1.32 to settle at $66.24 a barrel. In New York, heating oil gained 2.89 cents to $1.8069 a gallon, while gasoline futures advanced by 5.21 cents to settle at $1.7364 a gallon. Natural gas rose 17.1 cents to $8.40 per million British thermal units.
Oil Prices: The New Reality BusinessWeek
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Pelosi Questions Bush's Spying Program Forbes
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should have used his extensive authority under the law to monitor suspected terrorists rather than approve the National Security Agency's disputed monitoring program. "I would not want any president - Democrat or Republican - to have the expanded power the administration is claiming in this case," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in an interview with The Associated Press. Pelosi did not say the NSA's surveillance program was illegal. But she said the administration should follow the procedures in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows government lawyers to ask a secretive court for warrants for surveillance in the United States during national security investigations.
Domestic Spying Defense Washington Post
Experts challenge need for warrantless spying San Jose Mercury News
Asian Tribune - New York Times - The State - MSNBC - all 298 related »
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says President Bush should have used his extensive authority under the law to monitor suspected terrorists rather than approve the National Security Agency's disputed monitoring program. "I would not want any president - Democrat or Republican - to have the expanded power the administration is claiming in this case," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in an interview with The Associated Press. Pelosi did not say the NSA's surveillance program was illegal. But she said the administration should follow the procedures in the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows government lawyers to ask a secretive court for warrants for surveillance in the United States during national security investigations.
Domestic Spying Defense Washington Post
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January 29, 2006
Health Care, Vexing to Clinton, Is Now at Top of Bush's Agenda
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 — More than 12 years after President Bill Clinton unveiled his plan to remake the nation's health care system, President Bush is moving the issue once again to the top of the national agenda and is expected to push a series of health care proposals in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Where Mr. Clinton was driven by a desire to guarantee health insurance for every American, Mr. Bush is focusing primarily on health costs, which he says are swamping employers and threatening economic growth. Where Mr. Clinton favored a larger role for government, Mr. Bush has a fundamentally different philosophy, built on the idea that placing more responsibility in the hands of individuals will create market pressure to hold down costs.
The long-running debate has taken on new urgency as more and more companies find themselves struggling to pay for employee health benefits. Health care costs have been a big factor in the troubles of the domestic auto industry, among others.
But some policy experts, Republicans and Democrats alike, say the Bush proposals, which are built around tax breaks, may further drive up health spending and costs by fueling the demand for health care. Such unintended effects show how difficult it is to apply economic theory to the complexities of the current health care system.
By making health care a prominent theme of his prime-time address to the nation, Mr. Bush hopes to regain the initiative on domestic policy. Success with his health care proposals, following the failure of his effort to overhaul Social Security, would allow the president to build political momentum heading into the midterm elections this fall.
The White House has indicated that Mr. Bush will propose tax deductions for out-of-pocket medical expenses, rules to encourage the use of health savings accounts and incentives for small businesses across the country to band together and buy health insurance, exempt from state regulation.
Regina E. Herzlinger, a professor at Harvard Business School, said, "Insuring the uninsured is a fine objective, but how will this control the health costs that are hobbling our global competitiveness? Health savings accounts will increase coverage, and that's great. But they are being touted as a way to control costs, and I very much doubt that claim."
Democrats see the Bush proposals as a pastiche of old and new ideas that falls far short of what is required to tame the explosive growth in health costs.
Health Care, Vexing to Clinton, Is Now at Top of Bush's Agenda
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 — More than 12 years after President Bill Clinton unveiled his plan to remake the nation's health care system, President Bush is moving the issue once again to the top of the national agenda and is expected to push a series of health care proposals in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Where Mr. Clinton was driven by a desire to guarantee health insurance for every American, Mr. Bush is focusing primarily on health costs, which he says are swamping employers and threatening economic growth. Where Mr. Clinton favored a larger role for government, Mr. Bush has a fundamentally different philosophy, built on the idea that placing more responsibility in the hands of individuals will create market pressure to hold down costs.
The long-running debate has taken on new urgency as more and more companies find themselves struggling to pay for employee health benefits. Health care costs have been a big factor in the troubles of the domestic auto industry, among others.
But some policy experts, Republicans and Democrats alike, say the Bush proposals, which are built around tax breaks, may further drive up health spending and costs by fueling the demand for health care. Such unintended effects show how difficult it is to apply economic theory to the complexities of the current health care system.
By making health care a prominent theme of his prime-time address to the nation, Mr. Bush hopes to regain the initiative on domestic policy. Success with his health care proposals, following the failure of his effort to overhaul Social Security, would allow the president to build political momentum heading into the midterm elections this fall.
The White House has indicated that Mr. Bush will propose tax deductions for out-of-pocket medical expenses, rules to encourage the use of health savings accounts and incentives for small businesses across the country to band together and buy health insurance, exempt from state regulation.
Regina E. Herzlinger, a professor at Harvard Business School, said, "Insuring the uninsured is a fine objective, but how will this control the health costs that are hobbling our global competitiveness? Health savings accounts will increase coverage, and that's great. But they are being touted as a way to control costs, and I very much doubt that claim."
Democrats see the Bush proposals as a pastiche of old and new ideas that falls far short of what is required to tame the explosive growth in health costs.