Think Progress

Under the Radar

IRAQ -- GREEN ZONE NO LONGER INSULATED FROM ATTACKS: At least two members of the Iraqi legislature were killed today as bombs struck the Parliament building, which is located "inside the well-protected Green Zone." The Green Zone, which also contains the U.S. and British embassies as well as thousands of American troops, is located in Baghdad and "has been frequently targeted by mortars and rockets, but the attacks rarely cause serious casualties." The fatal bombing on the Iraqi Parliament today marks the second major attack on the Green Zone in recent weeks. "During a visit to Baghdad last month, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon was rattled when a mortar exploded in the zone while he was holding a press conference." Several smaller attacks have plagued the zone in recent weeks as well, raising questions as to the efficacy of the U.S. troop escalation in Baghdad. "It's clear that there have been increasing targeting attacks against the international zone," a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said recently. The increased use of mortars and rockets is a "change in tactics," he said, and "part of an overall strategy to disrupt the government and incite sectarian violence." The Washington Post notes that today's Parliament attacks "confirmed the continuing ability of insurgents to carry out major operations despite an American-led security crackdown in the Iraqi capital." Despite this evidence indicating that the U.S.-led escalation has not tamed the violence in Baghdad, President Bush recently reiterated his refusal to negotiate any change in Iraq strategy with Congress.

ETHICS -- WHITE HOUSE CLAIMS IT LOST RNC E-MAILS: E-mails released by the Bush administration last month revealed that White House aides may have been "conducting sensitive official presidential business via non-governmental accounts to get around a law requiring preservation -- and eventual disclosure -- of presidential records." In response, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign early last week and directed them to preserve all e-mails by and for White House officials because they "may be relevant to multiple congressional investigations." He has asked that the records be delivered no later than April 18. The RNC-owned-and-operated e-mail system has been "used by dozens of officials for more than six years," including senior presidential advisor Karl Rove for "95% of his e-mail communications." Indeed, while the non-governmental e-mail system is heavily used, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said yesterday that "the White House has not done a good enough job overseeing staff using political e-mail accounts" and that as a result, "some official e-mails have potentially been lost." He added that the White House is doing "everything practical" to recover the lost messages. Waxman, who initiated the request for the administration's records, issued a brief statement: "This is a remarkable admission that raises serious legal and security issues. The White House has an obligation to disclose all the information it has." The administration, however, "told Mr. Waxman's committee on Wednesday that it would not be able to comply fully." Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) responded saying, "This sounds like the administration's version of the dog ate my homework. ... I am deeply disturbed that just when this administration is finally subjected to meaningful oversight it cannot produce the necessary information."

EDUCATION -- FLORIDA LEGISLATURE FORCES UNIVERSITY TO IDOLIZE JEB BUSH: Two weeks ago, the University of Florida voted to deny Jeb Bush an honorary degree. By a 38-28 vote, the faculty Senate rejected the former governor's nomination, citing concerns about some of Bush's educations initiatives, including his dismantling of affirmative action programs in the state. Under Bush's "One Florida" plan, which outlawed affirmative action at state universities, African-American enrollment dropped at the University of Florida and across the state, as critics predicted it would. Bush's policies of "rewarding and punishing schools according to students' standardized test results and using vouchers to send certain students to private schools at public expense" also contributed to the rejection of his nomination. The faculty's decision did not sit well with Bush's supporters in the Florida legislature, especially Rep. David Rivera (R-Miami), who was "outraged" and responded by introducing a proposal to name the school's college of education after Bush. The measure passed the conservative-controlled House Schools & Learning Council on Tuesday. So now, over the faculty's objections, the school will "have to erect 'suitable markers' noting the college's new name and include the revised name in all university documents, including catalogues and brochures." That new name? The "Jeb Bush College of Education."

Think Fast

White House officials privately concede that much of the added domestic funding projects in the Iraq supplemental is necessary, contrary to President Bush's claim that they are "pork barrel projects." "We agree that the funding is needed," one official said, specifically citing added funds for homeland security and to help Gulf Coast states still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

"Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture. His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem."

"A librarian who fended off an FBI demand for computer records on patrons said Wednesday that secret anti-terrorism investigations strip away personal freedoms." George Christian said his experience "should raise a big patriotic American flag of caution" about the strain that the Bush administration has put on civil liberties.

The war in Iraq has "spawned new terror in the region," the Oxford Research Group, a British think tank, states in a new report. The United States and Britain have tried to "keep the lid on" terrorism problems with military force but "failed to address the root causes." The report also states that Iran, Syria, and North Korea have become "emboldened."

"Al Qaeda's new affiliate in North Africa asserted responsibility Wednesday for the deadliest attacks in Algeria's capital in a decade as 24 people were reported killed and 222 injured in bombings that shattered the prime minister's headquarters and a police base."

Conservative state legislators killed an effort yesterday to hang Coretta Scott King's portrait in Georgia's Capitol, next to a photo of her late husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Mrs. King certainly is a wonderful humanitarian...but this is not a museum," said State Rep. Calvin Hill (R).

"Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections." Just 120 people have been charged with voter fraud crimes, and 86 convicted as of last year.

And finally: Freshmen Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) "are locked in a tight race over who will be class geek." They are competing to win the Golden Gavel Award, which "goes to any senator who has presided over the Senate for 100 hours in any given year." At this point, Klobuchar is winning by a mere 20 minutes.