U.S.
CIA Largely in the Dark on Interrogation Tactics
CIA turned to countries known for their use of torture including Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to develop program.
The Colonels and 'The Matrix'
A group of young thinkers has triggered a simmering debate about how far the military should go in embracing counterinsurgency.
McConnell: Buckley's Death Inspires Me!
Lillis is on the phone reporting or something, so I'm going to steal his thunder on this press release Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell just sent out about the late William F. Buckley.
Bill Buckley inspired us with the passion and conviction of his life. And when we learned that he had died in his study, he inspired us by his death.
Um, dude. What were you inspired to, you know, do?
Breaking News...About Tom Waits
Usually I limit my blogging to environment-related topics, but this was just too good to be true (though I assure you, it is). Tom Waits' publicist verified last night that Waits is in fact going on tour this summer. It will be a U.S. and European tour, with no dates determined as of yet. This is a rare event for the legendary American musician whose last (very short) tour was in 2006.
Why Is Doan Out?
It's never wise to blast those in charge of audits.
Clinton Devised Both Pro-war and Anti-war Candidacy
Ten minutes in Hollywood on Thursday could prove to be Clinton's Waterloo -- if not now, then perhaps in November.
Security Gains From 'Surge' Backsliding
The idea to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq was meant to create 'breathing room' to create political stability.
Donald Rumsfeld: Still There
Remember Donald Rumsfeld? He seems like a bad dream. And yet here he is, popping up in Washington to talk about how the U.S. needs a Ministry of Propaganda. Here’s what he told Sharon Weinberger of Wired’s Danger Room:
Independence of CDC Scientists in Question
Gerberding rocked the CDC by centralizing control and boosting public relations efforts while introducing expensive, often unworkable new management techniques.
Iraq Veterans To Testify at Their Own 'Winter Soldier'
In 1971, 100 veterans gathered in Detroit to speak publicly about war atrocities they witnessed and committed. Iraq veterans will meet in Washington, hoping to hold the military -- not individuals -- responsible for the horrors of war.
Steroid Saga Takes Turn for Dramatic, Gross
Congress's sweeping probe into performance enhancing drug use in baseball now seems more like a public feud between Roger Clemens and his ex-personal trainer Brian McNamee.
McNamee walked into the House's Rayburn office building this afternoon carrying seven-years old bloody syringes, vials and gauze pads. His lawyer's promised that this unseemly trash is the treasure proving his client truthfully accused Clemens of using steroids and human growth hormones.
U.S. Economy Looks Like Weimar on the Brink
Twentieth-century economic history generated two great bogeymen: the Great Inflation and the Great Depression. The memory of both continues to haunt policy-makers.
'Bipartisan' Think Tank Attacks Democrats
The neo-conservative non-profit has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the State Department.
Abortion Ban For American Indians Only
The new rule, sponsored by scandal-scarred Sen. David Vitter, adds a race-specific layer to a federal law that prohibits abortion coverage under federal health programs.
In Solidarity With Jim Risen
The Justice Department is going after New York Times reporter Jim Risen for the non-crime of revealing President Bush's illegal domestic surveillance program. It's pathetic and unsurprising -- a fixture of Bush Justice -- that the activity DOJ pursues isn't the blatant illegality of Bush violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but instead the fact that government sources blew the whistle to a great investigative reporter.
The right response from the press, and the public, is to put one arm around Risen and, with the other arm, extend a single finger in the direction of the Justice Department.
PART ONE: Mortgage Crisis Triggers Walk Aways
The once reverent relationship between buyer and home is changing. Owners no longer hang on to homes above all else.
PART TWO
McCain: Weak on Terrorism, Strong on Dictators Who Exploit the U.S.
Juan Cole unpacks McCain's Pakistan comments from last night over at Informed Comment. As the kids say, read the whole thing. But, really, let's get into this:
[W]ill we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?
Credit Crisis Only Begins With Mortgages
The hard reality is that the economy is facing a one-two knockout blow from a collapse in consumer spending, plus a shock-and-awe wave of asset write-downs that is wreaking havoc in the financial sector.
When War Seems Unwinnable: Why Tet Matters
By the close of 1967, a half-million U.S. troops were in Vietnam, and Americans at home, viewing the war on television in their living rooms, had become inured to familiar images. Sweating in the fierce tropical heat and humidity, platoons of “grunts” were disgorged from hovering helicopters and cut through thick jungles or crossed flooded rice fields to faraway villages, occasionally stumbling onto mines or booby traps, or drawing fire from concealed snipers.
State of the Union Liveblog
Join us as we liveblog the State of the Union.
