Month: October 2005

The idea that George W. Bush is losing confidence in Dick Cheney is gaining traction, and Time magazine has the story: “‘The problem is that the president doesn’t want to make changes,’ says a White House adviser who is not looking for a West Wing job, ‘but he’s lost some of his confidence in the … Continue reading “Earth to Bush: Ditch Cheney”

Echoing recent comments by White House officials, a U.S. government report submitted to the United Nations last Friday bears a message that the brutal treatment of people held in U.S. military custody abroad is and should be legal. The report, which was submitted to the UN’s Human Rights Committee and is designed to document U.S. … Continue reading “Bush: Treaty Outlawing Torture Doesn’t Apply Beyond US Soil”

I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby, immediately praised by the president (“Scooter has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and sacrificed much in the service to this country”), his resignation accepted with “deep regret” by the vice president (“He has given many years of his life to public service and has served our nation tirelessly … Continue reading “The Tip of the Criminal Conspiracy”

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and assistant to the president, has been indicted for a cover-up.   As U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald made clear at the Oct. 28 press conference announcing Libby’s indictment, he believes Libby "went before a federal grand jury and lied under oath repeatedly and … Continue reading “What Libby’s Indictment Means for the Jacobins”

Losing I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, perhaps the most influential national security official without a formal cabinet rank, marks a serious blow to the George W. Bush administration and particularly to the hawks who led the drive to war in Iraq. Like his boss Vice Pres. Dick Cheney, Libby, who was indicted Friday for perjury, obstruction … Continue reading “A Formidable Hawk Goes Down”

with Katherine Stapp US Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff and top national security aide resigned Friday, hours before a grand jury formally indicted him on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice following a 22-month probe into the public disclosure of the identity of a covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative. The resignation … Continue reading “Cheney’s Top Aide Indicted in CIA Leak Case”

The White House still maintains there was evidence other than crude forgeries to back its prewar charge Saddam Hussein was trying to procure uranium from Niger, giving a reed of hope to loyal defenders that the whole Iraq nuke scare wasn’t an orchestrated fraud begging for cover-up. But when pressed, the White House defers to … Continue reading “The Nucleus of the Scandal”

Implosion update: And so they fall: Tom DeLay just weeks back. Harriet Miers yesterday. I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby today. Prepare yourself. It’s going to be a long, hard dive into deep waters that should, sooner or later, lead us back to the beginning. Think of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s indictment of the Vice President’s Chief … Continue reading “Smoking Guns and Red Herrings”

NEW DELHI – Seven years after blasting its way into the world’s "nuclear club," India has executed a major shift in its policy stance by jettisoning its long-standing advocacy of global nuclear disarmament in favor of nuclear non-proliferation. On Monday, the country’s Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran enunciated a new doctrinal orientation: India will now be … Continue reading “India Abandons Global Nuclear Disarmament”

While indictment fever gripped the Washington press corps this month, the president’s spin doctor was incapacitated. An ailing Karl Rove could not help the Republican search for a media cure. With temperature rising, the political physician was in no position to cure himself or anyone else. Now, a media siege is underway at the White … Continue reading “At the White House, the Spin Doctor Is Ill”