• George W. Bush,  Iraq,  Iraq War,  Michael Ramirez

    Michael Ramirez on President George W. Bush and the Iraq War

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    And the firing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and replacing him with Robert Gates doesn’t look good either.

    After today’s performance before the Senate Armed Services Committee the President should probably reconsider his choice of this APPEASER, Robert Gates.

    AP: Gates Says U.S. Is Not Winning Iraq War

    Robert Gates, the White House choice to be the next defense secretary, conceded Tuesday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and warned that if that country is not stabilized in the next year or two it could lead to a “regional conflagration.”

    At the outset of his Senate confirmation hearing, Gates said he is open to new ideas about correcting the U.S. course in Iraq, which he said would be his highest priority if confirmed as expected.

    Gates, 63, said he believes President Bush wants to see Iraq improve to the point where it can govern and defend itself, while seeking a new approach. “What we are now doing is not satisfactory,” Gates said.

    “In my view, all options are on the table, in terms of how we address this problem in Iraq,” he added.

    Asked point-blank by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., whether the U.S. is winning in Iraq, Gates replied, “No, sir.”

    But, the President disagreed.

    So, is Bush BUCKLING under the pressure?

    Hugh Hewitt worries as does Michael Leeden.

    Stay tuned for the Iraq Study Group tomorrow.


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  • Hillary Clinton,  President 2008

    Hillary Clinton Watch: Hillary Begins Presidential Campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire

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    Former President Bill Clinton, left, and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, greet supporters after Hillary Clinton’s reelection as they leave the stage after speaking at a Democratic party victory celebration in New York in this Nov. 7, 2006 file photo. While Clinton tops every national poll of likely 2008 Democratic presidential contenders, the New York senator is dogged by questions of ‘electability’ – political code for whether she can win enough swing states to prevail in a general election.

    AP: Clinton Reaches Out to Iowa, N.H. Dems

    Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has begun calling political operatives in Iowa and New Hampshire to discuss her prospects in the 2008 presidential field, her first outreach to operatives in key states with early contests.

    The New York Democrat began making calls to New Hampshire activists over the weekend and Iowa Democrats on Monday.

    Clinton spoke to New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch last week, Democratic officials told The Associated Press.

    Bonnie Campbell, a former Iowa attorney general who served in the Justice Department under President Bill Clinton, said she spoke to Clinton twice on Monday. Campbell’s husband, Edward Campbell, is a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

    “It was highly exploratory about ’08,” Campbell told The Associated Press. “She knows a lot about Iowa. I have already told her I would support her. We’ve known her for a very long time.”

    But, will she be able to beat the formidable number of Democrat candidates? Hillary certainly has NOT scared anyone out of this race, except perhaps Virginia’s Mark Warner.

    You can bet that Slick will be out there SOON campaigning for her.

    Stay tuned…….

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    With her husband former President Bill Clinton at her side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, laughs after she addressed supporters at a Democratic victory celebration in New York.

    Previous:

    Hillary Clinton Watch: Hillary Running for President


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  • France,  General,  Germany,  Lebanon,  Syria

    Lebanon Watch: France and Germany Call on Syria to Stop Destabilizing Lebanon

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    Lebanon’s Prime Minister Fuad Saniora holds a press conference in front of hundreds from a Beirut delegation who visited the Government House to show support, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday Dec. 5, 2006. Shiites on Tuesday buried a young man killed in street clashes in a Sunni Muslim neighborhood as the country’s army commander warns the military may not be able to contain any further protests linked to Lebanon’s tense political standoff.

    AFP: Germany, France urge Syria to ‘stop destabilising Lebanon’

    Germany and France have issued a joint call to Syria to “stop supporting forces that seek to destabilise Lebanon and the region”.

    “France and Germany call for an end to all interference in the affairs of Lebanon,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac said Tuesday in a joint statement after meeting in Mettlach in western Germany.

    “As far as Syria is concerned, we want that country to stop supporting forces that seek to destabilise Lebanon and the region,” the statement said.

    They said that in exchange for heeding the call, Syria could hope to “resume normal conduct with the international community and in particular with the countries of the
    European Union”.

    Merkel and Chirac expressed their full support for the embattled Western-backed government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, who is facing mass protests and calls for his government to resign.

    Oh Please…….

    And when Israel was at war against Syria and Iran client state within a state, Hezbollah, where were the Europeans?

    Well, they were carping at Israel and then by the end of the war reluctantly offered men and material to the United Nations in order to preserve the peace and prevent the rearming of Hezbollah.

    And what has been the result?

    Hezbollah is rearming with impunity and attempting with Syria’s help to bring down the democratically elected Saniora government.

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    Lebanon’s Muslim Shi’ite Amal movement members carry the coffin of Ahmad Mahmoud in the suburbs of Beirut December 5, 2006. Mahmoud was killed on Sunday during clashes between Sunni residents and Shi’ite protesters in the Qasqas neighbourhood in Beirut.

    In the meantime, Fouad Siniora vows to stay on despite mounting pressure.

    Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora vowed Sunday to remain in office despite opposition supporters camped outside his offices for the third day calling on him to resign. As nationalist songs were blaring from the nearby tents of the opposition in Downtown Beirut, a Mass was held at the Grand Serail to commemorate the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.

    Gemayel died in a shooting ambush in a Christian suburb of Beirut last month.

    The service was led by Beirut Maronite Bishop Boulos Matar and attended by Siniora, his anti-Syrian ministers, Gemayel’s family, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, as well as other politicians from the March 14 Forces.

    Siniora said the protests would not achieve the opposition’s goal, hinting that they might take counter-action if the Hizbullah-led sit-in drags on.

    “A solution to any problem does not come through the street because this means might trigger a counter-means and we will not reach any result,” Siniora told reporters after the Mass.

    “I will not leave; I am going to stay here for as I enjoy Parliament’s confidence. I am here by the confidence of the Lebanese and the constitutional institutions,” he said.

    Siniora and his supporters describe Hizbullah’s campaign as a coup attempt led by Syria and its ally, Iran. “We are used to coups d’etat in Lebanon and the Arab world and we know its results and there was one attempt in 1961 and it failed,” he said, “so why try something that is already known to fail?”

    Stay tuned……

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    German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) gestures as she chats with French president Jacques Chirac upon their arrival in Mettlach in western Germany. France and Germany have turned up the pressure on Syria, telling Damascus to stop destabilising Lebanon as mass protests against Prime Minister Fuad Siniora entered a fifth day.

    Previous:

    Lebanon Watch: Siniora defiant as Pro-Syria Hezbollah Calls Mass Protest to Force Out the Government

    Lebanon Watch: Hezbollah Plans to Bring Down Lebanese Government Within A Month

    Lebanon Watch: Hundreds of Thousands of Lebanese Mourn Pierre Gemayel – Attend Funeral

    Lebanon Watch: Assassinated Lebanese Minister Pierre Gemayel to Be Buried Thursday

    Global War on Terror Watch: Hezbollah and Syria Make a MOVE in Lebanon


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  • General,  Iran,  Iran Nuclear Watch,  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Warns P-5-Plus-1 About Sanctions

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    ranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is pictured in Tehran, December 2. High-ranking diplomats from six world powers were preparing to meet in Paris in search of a sanctions package against Iran, as Tehran warned that it would take any attempt to thwart its nuclear programme as an “act of hostility”

    AP: Ahmadinejad issues warning on sanctions

    Iran’s president warned Washington’s European allies on Tuesday that Iran would reconsider its relations with them if they insist on punishing Tehran for its nuclear program, saying that would amount to an act of “hostility.”

    His comments came ahead of a meeting in Paris of diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany to discuss imposing penalties on Iran for refusing to stop uranium enrichment.

    “I’m telling you in plain language that as of now on, if you try, whether in your propaganda or at international organizations, to take steps against the rights of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation will consider it an act of hostility,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech before thousands in northern Iran.

    “And if you insist on pursuing this path,” he continued, Iran “will reconsider its relations with you.”

    It was the first time that Ahmadinejad had threatened to downgrade relations with European nations, which are responsible of a large portion of Iran’s international trade. It was not clear what steps Ahmadinejad had in mind. The president does not have the final word in Iran — that lies with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. When Ahmadinejad on one occasion was quoted as threatening to retaliate against the West by restricting oil sales, he was quickly countermanded.

    As Flap has maintained for months there will be NO MEANINGFUL UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL SANCTIONS.

    This statement by Ahmadinejad is an “IN YOUR FACE” moment to Europe – warning them that any cooperation with the United States to impose any type of sanction will result in “hostility” with Iran.

    Russia earlier today reiterated its opposition to Iran nuclear sanctions.

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that imposing wide-ranging sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program would be “irresponsible.”

    “Our Western partners wanted to impose broad sanctions. We believe that to impose these kind of sanctions is irresponsible. We will achieve the opposite results,” he said at a meeting in Brussels.

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    U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns is seen in Berlin in this September 8, 2006 file photo. Burns said he did not expect a breakthrough at a meeting in Paris on Tuesday of major powers to discuss possible sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programme.

    So, it is unlikey that today’s meeting in Paris will support Iran sanctions – as the hundreds of meetings and conversations previously. What, then, is America’s strategy in dealing with the obvious “STALL GAME” of Iran?

    Israel does not believe the United States will undertake any preemptive military action.

    Predicting Iran will obtain nuclear weapons by the end of the decade, the defense establishment’s new and updated assessment for 2007 does not foresee the United States undertaking a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear installations, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

    The chances of an American strike are deemed “low,” according to assessments by the security establishment. Israel also believes that international diplomatic efforts to stop Iran will fail, security sources said.

    Will President Bush be acquiescent to the Iranians and their nuclear weapon program? Will Bush PUNT this ball to the next President?

    Possible

    The Bush State Department has been slow playing the Iran situation. Maybe it is due to Iraq?

    Perhaps not.

    Is or will President Bush marshall forces away from Iraq deployments to an offensive military poster against Iran’s nuclear program?

    Doubtful at this time.

    What is the United States doing?

    Fecking along with the rest of the Europeans doing essentially NOTHING.

    Stay tuned……

    Previous:

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Israel “On the Verge of Disappearing”

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Letters to Ahmadinejad

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad Sends ANOTHER Letter – This Time to the American People

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Russia Begins Delivery of Tor-M1 Air Defense Missile Systems to Iran

    Iran Nuclear Watch: IAEA Waives Decision on Aid for Iran’s Arak Nuclear Reactor

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Robert Mugabe – Iran, Zimbabwe “THINK ALIKE”

    Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Replacing Tehran Nuclear Reactor With Heavy Water Arak Reactor

    The Iran Nuclear Files

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    The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.


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