Political Football

Saddam’s Law from Best of the Web Today –
January 2, 2007  By JAMES TARANTO
 
Saddam’s ‘Law’
Here’s a curious passage from the main New York Times story on Saddam’s hanging:   

Finally, he was ousted by an American-led invasion force in 2003 and the country fell into a new round of internal violence as the rule of law disintegrated and the Western invaders proved unable to control a country in the aftermath of totalitarian rule.  Presumably the Times didn’t actually mean to equate “the rule of law” with “totalitarian rule,” but it’s an interesting case of sloppiness. Along similar lines is this from the Associated Press:  

Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.  That “accused” seems out of place, but more important, did Saddam really face “the same fate” as his victims? Surely there is a difference between a lawful execution of a duly convicted murderer and the murder of innocents by a dictatorial state.  

Come to think of it, it’s the difference between the rule of law and totalitarian rule.  

Eason Jordan’s blog “The Iraq Slogger” an AP Scandal in the making 

Eason Jordan was a CNN Executive who stated multiple times in 2005 that he believed Journalists have been targeted by the US military in Iraq. So tainted by that statement – Jordan resigned, only to appear as a blogger in DEC 2006 (see link above). He’s invited Michelle Malkin to go to Iraq with him to search for the Mr. Jamil Hussein.  

[1/13 update - Michelle Malkin is in Iraq, but declined Eason Jordan's offer to finance her trip.]

Bloggers, researching AP’s war reporting, note that there have been over 60 negative stories over two years citing deaths, bombings and other bad things in Iraq reported variously by a Minister of Information Officer or a Police Officer named Jamil Hussein, that once confronted, no one seems to be able to find!  Read more about Jamil here and more about Mr. Jordan’s controversy here. 

[January 5 update Captain Jamil Hussein has been found, now let's talk to him and see where he got the stories that no one else says happened...  this is getting very interesting.]

Powerlineblog – note re: Richard Clarke   sour grapes?

Romney to announce candidacy on Jan 8?

Mitt Romney discusses some issues in recent interviews he’s had with National Review Online, Human Events Online (audio available here–he always sounds good), and on the Hugh Hewitt Show (click on the links for the interviews):
 
Also, the Financial Times has a nice article reviewing Romney’s past successes as well. 
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The Hundred Year War for Survival pf the United States as we know it. 

Pentagon briefings reveal Al Qaida’s 20-year plan, inevitability of ‘Long War’  

The Pentagon’s Joint Staff is very secretive but it is coming out of the shadows to better promote the idea that the global war on terrorism will be a “Long War” of perhaps 100 years’ duration. A Joint Staff briefing, entitled the “Long War,” is given five or six times a week within the Pentagon to various public audiences and as many as 60 times around the country.

The goal is to help the American people and leaders better understand the nature of the conflict, the enemy and its actions and the U.S. strategy and tactics for defeating them. “It is not just about Iraq or Afghanistan. It involves the whole world and it involves the whole government,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Schissler, deputy director of the war on terrorism within the Joint Staff J-5 strategy office. 

According to the briefing, Al Qaida remains the main threat but it is also changing. The terrorist group is succeeding in making more connections around the globe, especially in Muslim-dominated regions where Islamists seek to re-establish a caliphate. These include North Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central and Southeast Asia. further text requires subscription here