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2007 Military News History Archive

2007 Military News

Dennis Kucinich - Joe Biden - Chris Dodd - Ron Paul - Duncan Hunter - Television - Politics - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - New Hampshire - "FOX, ABC to reduce debate fields." ... "This weekend’s [New Hampshire] presidential debates and forum will not include some nationally-known candidates, and the chairmen of the state Republican and Democratic parties are not happy." ... "Fergus Cullen and Raymond Buckley say the decisions by ABC News, WMUR and, in Cullen’s case, FOX News, are inconsistent with the New Hampshire primary’s tradition of providing a level playing field for all candidates." ... "ABC News and WMUR-TV (Channel 9) confirmed today that they have established performance-based criteria for Saturday night's pair of presidential debates. Those rules could leave several relatively well-known candidates on the outside looking in, including [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidates] Democrats Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd." ... "And Cullen confirmed that FOX News has invited only five presidential candidates to a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] forum scheduled for Sunday night, leaving out [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidates] Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter." ... "GOP candidate Paul has said that FOX News is “scared of me” and has called the network “propagandists for this (Iraq) war, and I challenge them on the notion that they are conservative.”" -By John Distaso -UnionLeader.com

John Edwards - Mike Huckabee - Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama - Mitt Romney - Money- Religion - People - US - Iraq - Military - Iowa - 2008 Election - Poll - "Iowa: Edwards surges, Huckabees bubble bursts." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll." ... "At the same time, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has regained the lead among Iowa Republicans as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee has lost momentum and support, even among the evangelical Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago." ... "If all second-tier Democratic candidates fall short [in Iowa’s Democratic caucuses] and their supporters switch to other candidates, Edwards gains the most, rolling up a clear lead at 33 percent to 26 percent each for Clinton and Obama." ... "Edwards, pushing a people-versus-the powerful message, owes his gains to voters looking for a general election winner, someone who agrees with them on the issues, and those who rank Iraq their top concern." -By Steven Thomma -McClatchyDC.com

Ron Paul - Television - Politics- New Hampshire - Iowa - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - "Paul: Fox News is 'scared of me'." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Ron Paul said the decision to exclude him from a debate on Fox News Sunday the weekend before the New Hampshire Primary is proof that the network "is scared" of him." ... ""They are scared of me and don't want my message to get out, but it will," Paul said in an interview at a diner here. "They are propagandists for this war and I challenge them on the notion that they are conservative."" ... "Paul, the Republican Texas Congressman, was wrapping up his final day of campaigning in New Hampshire until the Iowa Caucuses on Thursday." -By James Pindell -BostonGlobe

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military- Money - Legislation - Reconstruction - "Bush rejects defense bill by pocket veto." ... "[Republican] President Bush on Friday used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era." ... "In a statement, Bush said the legislation "would imperil billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts."" ... "The president's objections were focused on a provision deep within legislation that sets defense policy for the coming year and approves $696 billion in spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also in the legislation were improved veterans benefits and tighter oversight of contractors and weapons programs." ... "The pocket veto means that troops will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized by the bill." -By Ben Feller -AP via -Yahoo

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Worldwide - Military - Government - Accounting - Terrorism - Politics - History - Alaska - Ted Stevens - "Wars Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says." ... "The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month -- came last week from one of the Senate's leading proponents of a continued U.S. [United States] military presence in Iraq." ... ""This cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month," [Alaska GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. [December] 18." ... "While most of the public focus has been on the political fight over troop levels, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported this month that the [Republican President] Bush administration's request for the 2008 fiscal year of $189.3 billion [$189.3/12=$15.775 billion per month] for Defense Department operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and worldwide counterterrorism activities was 20 percent higher than for fiscal 2007 and 60 percent higher than for fiscal 2006." (1, 2) -By Walter Pincus -WashingtonPost
US - Iraq - Military - " US military deaths in Iraq at 3,900." ... "As of Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007, at least 3,900 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count." -AP via -Yahoo

John Edwards - Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Iowa - Manufacturing - Jobs - Family - Health-Care - Environment - Human Rights - US - China - Corporations - Iraq - Military - Indiana - Idaho - Illinois - Homes - Consumers - 2008 Election - "Behind the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time." ... "To a far greater extent than [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidates Barack] Obama or [Hillary] Clinton, [John] Edwards has struck at the heart of issues that should matter most in the race to replace not just [Republican President] George W. Bush, but the Bush agenda of corporate giveaways, job-crushing free trade deals, war profiteering in Iraq, and subprime mortgage profiteering in Indiana, Idaho, Illinois and, yes, Iowa." ... "Edwards summed up his increasingly aggressive and powerful anti-corporate themes with a declaration: "What makes America America is at stake: jobs, the middle class, health care, preserving the environment in the world for future generations."" ... ""But all those things are at risk. And why are they at risk? Because of corporate power and corporate greed in Washington, D.C. And we have to take them on. You can't make a deal with them. You can't hope that they're going to go away. You have to actually be willing to fight. And I want every caucus-goer to know I've been fighting these people and winning my entire life. And if we do this together, rise up together, we can actually make absolutely certain, starting here in Iowa, that we make this country better than we left it."" ... "Edwards got to know workers in Iowa. He stood with them in their struggles." ... "Turning a broad question about human rights toward the specific issue of trade policy, the former senator said that human rights, human needs and human values "should be central to our trade policy."" ... ""But," he added, "if you look at what's happened with American trade policy, look at what America got: Big corporations made a lot of money, are continuing to make a lot of money in China. But what did America get in return? We got millions of dangerous Chinese toys. We lost millions of jobs." ... ""And right here in Iowa, the Maytag plant in Newton [Iowa] closed. A guy named Doug Bishop, who I got to know very well, had worked in that plant, and his family had worked in that plant literally for generations. And his job is now gone. The same thing, by the way, happened in the plant that my father worked in when I was growing up. It is so important that we stop allowing these corporate powers and corporate profits to run America's policy, whether it's trade policy, how we engage with China. This is not good for America. It's not good for American jobs. And it's not good for working people in this country."" ... "That's an issue Edwards has taken far, far more seriously than his opponents in what is now a three-way race in Iowa. And that seriousness has benefitted the former senator." -By John Nichols -TheNation
US - Iraq - Military - Family - Poll - Idaho - Oregon - Afghanistan - "Military family members share public's division on Iraq war, Bush:Polls: Almost half say invasion was a mistake." ... "Close family members of U.S. [United States] troops are split on whether the Iraq invasion was a mistake, and 55% disapprove of [Republican] President Bush's job performance, according to USA TODAY/Gallup Polls focusing on immediate relatives of servicemembers." ... ""They've maxed out on the troops. You've got guys who are over there on their fourth or fifth tours. It's ridiculous," says Jeanette Knowles, 40, of Mountain Home, Idaho, whose brother, Jeff, served a tour in Iraq with the Oregon National Guard." ... "More than 1.5 million servicemembers have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, and Army combat tours last up to 15 months." -By Gregg Zoroya-USATODAY

Mike Huckabee - Prisoners - Guantanamo - Cuba - US - Military - Law - Arkansas - 2008 Election - "Huckabee: Gitmo Is "Too Nice"." ... "Asked about Guantanamo [American military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba], [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee said he had visited the facility and said it was “disappointing” that military personnel were eating meals that averaged $1.60 while the detainees were eating Halal meals that cost over $4 each." ... "“The inmates there were getting a whole lot better treatment than my prisoners in Arkansas. In fact, we left saying, ‘I hope our guys don’t see this. They’ll all want to be transferred to Guanatanmo. If anything, it’s too nice.”" ... "Huckabee has said Guantanamo is more a “symbolic issue” than anything else since the detainees are treated better than prisoners in the US. Today Huckabee said, “Where they are detained is of less importance to me than that they are detained…until we know they are of no threat to us.”" -By Joy Lin and Mary Hood -CBSNews

Secret - Intelligence - War- Criminal - Videotapes - Censorship - Politics - Military - Terrorism - Texas - "Subpoena of CIA officials threatened: Justice Dept. [department] action in tape destruction probe angers House panel chairman, who expects testimony from two top intelligence agency officials." ... "The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, chafing at the Justice Department's handling of a probe into missing CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] interrogation tapes, threatened Wednesday to subpoena two top CIA officials to jump-start the panel's own investigation." ... "The department, which is conducting a criminal inquiry with the CIA inspector general into revelations that a CIA official destroyed videotapes of two terrorism suspects being interrogated in 2005, asked the panel last week to defer its inquiry." ... "Committee Chairman [Texas Democratic Representative] Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) has called a hearing for Jan. 16. He said he expected testimony from both acting CIA general counsel John Rizzo and Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., the former head of the agency's operations branch, who authorized destroying the tapes." -By Richard B. Schmitt -LAtimes

Secret - Alberto R Gonzales - David S Addington - Dick Cheney - Harriet E Miers - Torture - War - Crimes - Tapes- Censorship - Law - Politics - Military - Government - Intelligence - Terrorism - History - US- Iraq - "Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes." ... "At least four top [Republican President Bush] White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda, according to current and former administration and intelligence officials." ... "The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November 2005 was more extensive than [Republican President] Bush administration officials have acknowledged." ... "Those who took part, the officials said, included Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as White House counsel until early 2005; David S. Addington, who was the counsel to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney and is now his chief of staff; John B. Bellinger III, who until January 2005 was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council; and Harriet E. Miers, who succeeded Mr. Gonzales as White House counsel." ... "It was previously reported that some administration officials had advised against destroying the tapes, but the emerging picture of White House involvement is more complex. In interviews, several administration and intelligence officials provided conflicting accounts as to whether anyone at the White House expressed support for the idea that the tapes should be destroyed." ... "One former senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said there had been “vigorous sentiment” among some top White House officials to destroy the tapes. The former official did not specify which White House officials took this position, but he said that some believed in 2005 that any disclosure of the tapes could have been particularly damaging after revelations a year earlier of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq." ... "The current and former officials also provided new details about the role played in November 2005 by Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the chief of the agency’s clandestine branch, who ultimately ordered the destruction of the tapes." ... "The officials said that before he issued a secret cable directing that the tapes be destroyed, Mr. Rodriguez received legal guidance from two C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] lawyers, Steven Hermes and Robert Eatinger. The officials said that those lawyers gave written guidance to Mr. Rodriguez that he had the authority to destroy the tapes and that the destruction would violate no laws." ... "Current and former officials said the two lawyers informed the C.I.A.’s top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, about the legal advice they had provided." (1, 2) -By Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane with contributions by David Johnston -NYTimes

Iran - Russia - Fuel - Business - Construction - US - International - Military - Politics - "Russia starts nuclear fuel deliveries to Iran." ... "Iran passed a significant milestone in its quest for nuclear power status yesterday when it received a first delivery of enriched uranium from Russia, allowing for the completion of a long-delayed reactor at Bushehr [Iran]." ... "The head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, announced that 80 tonnes of fuel had been received, with further consignments expected in the next two months." ... "The delivery appeared to signal a weakening of the international coalition opposing Iranian nuclear ambitions which the US and its allies suspect are aimed at building an atomic bomb." ... "It also means Iran is just months away from having its first nuclear power station, after years of delays. The Russian contractors building the Bushehr plant, which will be used to generate electricity, say it could be operational within six months." -By Robert Tait -Guardian.co.uk

Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - US - Foreign - Military - Mentality - 2008 Election - "Romney Again Seeks Huckabee Apology." ... "At a campaign stop here on Monday, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney continued his blunt criticism of his Republican rival [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mike Huckabee, renewing a call for Mr. Huckabee to apologize for characterizing the [Republican President] Bush administration’s foreign policy as “arrogant.”" ... "Mr. Romney once again accused Mr. Huckabee of using “the language of a Democrat” in an article he wrote for the January/February 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs in which he asserts that “the Bush administration’s arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad.”" -By Michael Falcone -NYTimes

John Edwards - Barack Obama- Hillary Clinton - North Carolina - Illinois - New York - 2008 Election - Government - Oil - Drug- Companies - Health-Care - US - Iraq - Military - Iowa - Fields- "Edwards cuts sharper edge in Iowa trail speeches." ... ""The few, the powerful, the well-financed, they now control the government," [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards told a tight crowd of about 350 last week. "They've taken over your democracy. And it affects everything that happens in this country."" ... ""Everything," he emphasized." ... "During an 18-minute span, the former North Carolina senator took aim and fired freely at insurance, oil and drug companies and failed chief executives rewarded with golden parachutes. He described the Republican field as [Republican President] "George Bush on steroids" and said his Democratic competitors are talkers, not fighters." ... "In what has often been portrayed as a two-Democrat battle between [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Hillary Clinton of New York the populist Edwards is making an eight-day blitz across the frozen fields of Iowa, a sort of red-meat express to convince the middle class that he is the one who will wrest the country from the clutches of "corporate power and greed."" ... ""I know some people suggest we'll be able to sit at the table with drug companies and oil companies and think they can get their power away. Right," Edwards said dismissively, indirectly referring to the approaches he says Obama and Clinton would take." ... ""I'll tell you when they'll [corporations] lose their power: when we take it away from them," he told a cheering crowd at the [Iowa] Grinnell Eagles Club." ... ""There's been a change in America. We have greater concentration of wealth and power in a few. We have an increasingly dysfunctional health-care system. We have this war in Iraq that has gotten much worse," he said. "I think we need a president who's willing to be tough and to go after these things."" -By Tim Jones -ChicagoTribune

Mitt Romney - Mike Huckabee - Foreign - US - Military - Illegal - Immigrants - People - Baptist - Iowa - Massachusetts - Arkansas - Ads - 2008 Election - "Romney Hits Huckabee for Criticizing Bush." ... "Sensing an opening in his desperate effort to retake the lead in Iowa, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on Saturday pounced on comments by [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in which he characterized [Republican] President Bush's foreign policy as an "arrogant bunker mentality."" ... "Romney has started heaping criticism on Huckabee as the former baptist minister has climbed into a comfortable lead in Iowa caucuses. On television and in mailings to voters, Romney has attacked Huckabee's position on illegal immigrants in the hopes of halting his momentum." -By Michael D. Shear -WashingtonPost

US - Iraq - Military - Police - Terrorism - Politics - Christmas - "Christians in Basra told not to celebrate to protest 2 deaths." ... "The Christian archbishop of Basra on Tuesday canceled the celebration of Christmas in that southern city to protest the deaths of a brother and sister, both Christians, as bombings and mayhem struck at cities throughout Iraq." ... "Archbishop Imad al Banna said Christians in Basra should still pray to mark Christmas, but should forgo such celebratory trappings as trees, gift-swapping and family gatherings to protest the deaths of Maysoon Farid, a 30-year-old cashier at a local pharmacy, and her brother Osama, 33. The two were found dead Monday night, dumped in a neighborhood controlled by the Shiite Muslim Mahdi Army militia." ... "Meanwhile, two police officers in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] were killed by a car bomb that struck near the homes of two prominent politicians, while south of Fallujah, in the west, family members mourned a 9-year-old girl who they said was killed by U.S. troops." -By Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri with contributions by Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad and Jamal al Dulaimy -McClatchy
John Edwards - US - Iraq - Military - Corporate - Government - Energy - Drug - Health - Family - Farmers - 2008 Election - "AP Interview: Edwards on Iraq and Dems." ... "While [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards continues to invoke ending the [Iraq] war as one of the major challenges facing the nation, the thrust of his message is that entrenched corporate power has prevented the government from tackling long-standing domestic problems." ... ""You hear a lot more questions about corporate power, health care, energy, family farmers," he said. "Those are the things people ask about."" ... ""My focus for these last few weeks is on a positive agenda," he said. "That's what America rising is all about."" ... "That's not to say Edwards' message doesn't have an edge." ... "His culprits are "powerful, well-entrenched, well-financed interests that are distorting the democracy in their favor and against the interests of most Americans."" ... ""The specific examples are oil companies, drug companies, insurance companies, power companies, there are lots more examples," he said. "They've used money and power to spread their influence and have kept the democracy from working for most people."" (1, 2) -By Jim Kuhnhenn -AP via -NOLA.com

Joe Biden - Investigate- Military - Government - Intelligence - Terrorism - Videotapes - Censorship - Politics - Delaware - 2008 Election - "Biden calls for Special Counsel to investigate CIA." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Delaware Senator] Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, says the Justice Department needs to go further than it has, by calling for the appointment of Special Counsel to investigate the CIA's destruction of videotapes that included the interrogation of terrorism suspects." ... "“Under federal law, the Attorney General may appoint a Special Counsel to prosecute matters when he or she determines that an investigation by the Department itself would present a conflict of interest, or there are other extraordinary circumstances and it would be in the public interest to do so. I believe these conditions are met," the Democratic presidential hopeful said in a news release Sunday." ... "“This is a White House that has sanctioned and pushed for the kind of interrogation techniques captured on those video tapes," Biden said. "This is a White House that was informed of the CIA’s desire to destroy those tapes. Thus, it is possible this investigation could lead to the [Republican President Bush] White House."" -By Jamie Crawford -CNN

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Families - Politics - Poll - "Bush loses ground with military families." ... "Families with ties to the military, long a reliable source of support for wartime presidents, disapprove of [Republican] President Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth it, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found." ... "The views of the military community, which includes active-duty service members, veterans and their family members, mirror those of the overall adult population, a sign that the strong military endorsement that the [Republican President Bush] administration often pointed to has dwindled in the war's fifth year." ... "Nearly six out of every 10 military families disapprove of Bush's job performance and the way he has run the war, rating him only slightly better than the general population does." ... "And among those families with soldiers, sailors and Marines who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, 60% say that the war in Iraq was not worth the cost, the same result as all adults surveyed." ... "Military families are only slightly more patient: 35% are willing to stay until victory; 58% want the troops home within a year or sooner." ... "When military families were asked which party could be trusted to do a better job of handling issues related to them, respondents divided almost evenly: 39% said Democrats and 35% chose Republicans." -By Faye Fiore -LAtimes
Howard Krongard - US - Iraq - Blackwater - Corporate - Military - Law- "Official in Blackwater probe quits." ... "State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, under scrutiny for his brother's link to the Blackwater security firm, has decided to resign, U.S. officials said on Friday." ... "Krongard, the State Department's top investigator, has been accused by current and former subordinates of thwarting probes into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by Blackwater." -By Arshad Mohammed and Andy Sullivan with contributions by Bill Trott -Reuters

Secret - Porter J Goss - Michael V Hayden - Military - Government - Terrorism - Intelligence - Videotapes - Censorship - Officers - Safety - Prisoner - Torture - War Crimes - Law - Politics- "C.I.A. Destroyed Tapes of Interrogations." ... "The Central Intelligence Agency in 2005 destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Al Qaeda operatives in the agency’s custody, a step it took in the midst of Congressional and legal scrutiny about the C.I.A’s [Central Intelligence Agency] secret detention program, according to current and former government officials." ... "The videotapes showed agency operatives in 2002 subjecting terror suspects — including Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee in C.I.A. custody — to severe interrogation techniques. They were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that tapes documenting controversial interrogation methods could expose agency officials to greater risk of legal jeopardy, several officials said." ... "The C.I.A. said today that the decision to destroy the tapes had been made “within the C.I.A. itself,” and they were destroyed to protect the safety of undercover officers and because they no longer had intelligence value. The agency was headed at the time by Porter J. Goss. Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Goss declined this afternoon to comment on the destruction of the tapes." ... "The existence and subsequent destruction of the tapes are likely to reignite the debate over the use of severe interrogation techniques on terror suspects, and their destruction raises questions about whether C.I.A. officials withheld information about aspects of the program from the courts and from the Sept. 11 commission appointed by [Republican] President Bush and Congress. It was not clear who within the C.I.A. authorized the destruction of the tapes, but current and former government officials said it had been approved at the highest levels of the agency." ... "General [CIA Director, General Michael V Hayden] Hayden said in a statement that leaders of Congressional oversight committees were fully briefed on the matter, but some Congressional officials said notification to Congress had not been adequate." (1, 2) -By Mark Mazzetti with contributions by Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane -NYTimes

US - Iran - Nuclear - Military - Intelligence - Politics - "Bush told in August that Iran nuke program 'may be suspended'." ... "[Republican] President Bush was told in August that Iran's nuclear weapons program "may be suspended," the White House said Wednesday, which seemingly contradicts the account of the meeting given by Bush Tuesday." ... "[Admiral] Adm. Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, told Bush the new information might cause intelligence officials to change their assessment of the Iranian program, but said analysts needed to review the new data before making a final judgment, White House press secretary Dana Perino said late Wednesday." ... ""Director McConnell said that the new information might cause the intelligence community to change its assessment of Iran's covert nuclear program, but the intelligence community was not prepared to draw any conclusions at that point in time, and it wouldn't be right to speculate until they had time to examine and analyze the new data," Perino said in a statement issued by the White House." ... "The new account from Perino seems to contradict the president's version of his August conversation with McConnell and raised new questions about why Bush continued to warn the American public about a threat from Iran two months after being told a new assessment was in the works." -By Ed Henry -CNN

Curt Weldon - Federal - Military - Money - Family - Politics - Pennsylvania - "Ex-Congressman's Aide to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy." ... "Former [Pennsylvania Republican] representative Curt Weldon's chief of staff has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges for allegedly helping a consulting firm that Weldon championed obtain federal funds and for concealing money the firm paid him and his wife, according to court papers unsealed today." ... "According to the court document, Russell James Caso and a top official at the unnamed consulting firm met repeatedly with Weldon to seek the Pennsylvania Republican's help in obtaining federal funds for the organization's defense projects." -By Carol D. Leonnig -WashingtonPost
Joe Biden - US - Iran - Military - Nuclear - Intelligence - History - Delaware - 2008 Election - "Democrats incredulous over Bush's account of Iran report." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic presidential candidate [Delaware Senator] Sen. Joe Biden on Tuesday said he can't believe [Republican] President Bush hasn't known for months about a recent intelligence estimate that downplays the nuclear threat from Iran." ... "On Tuesday the president acknowledged he had given a speech warning that Iran's nuclear development risked "World War III" about two months after his intelligence chief told him a reassessment of Tehran's nuclear ambitions was under way." ... "Bush told reporters during a White House news conference that he was not told the details of the new assessment until last week and he said the new report, which found that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons work in 2003, will not change U.S. policy toward Iran." ... "The Democratic presidential candidates were incredulous that Bush did not know about the assessment's new finding." ... "Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called that explanation "unbelievable."" ... ""Are you telling me a president that's briefed every single morning, who's fixated on Iran, is not told back in August that the tentative conclusion of 16 intelligence agencies in the U.S. government said they had abandoned their effort for a nuclear weapon in '03?" Biden asked in a conference call with reporters." ... ""I refuse to believe that," he added. "If that's true, he has the most incompetent staff in modern American history, and he's one of the most incompetent presidents in modern American history."" -CNN
US - Iran -