Think Progress

IRAQ -- REPORT: SIX MONTHS LATER, TIME'S UP FOR ESCALATION PROPONENTS: Six months ago, on Jan. 10, President Bush announced the troop escalation in Iraq, claiming that "if we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home." A host of administration officials and media pundits embraced Bush's call and asked that the American public give it a chance to succeed. The Progress Report has compiled a list of administration officials and media pundits who promised a reassessment after giving the surge a chance. For example, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated on Jan. 12, "I think in the next few months you're going to know whether or not this is working." Six months later, there is no trend of success: tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have died, as well as 590 U.S. soldiers. Military assessments suggest that "the U.S. military's plan to secure Baghdad against a rising insurgency is falling far short of its goal" and a report to be released later this week will show that "no progress has been made on the political benchmarks" by the Iraqi government. Begging for more time, the White House now suggests the escalation has been in place for only a few weeks. Yesterday, Bush said, "You have got all the troops there a couple of weeks ago. ... They have just showed up and are beginning operations in full and you have people in Washington saying 'Stop.'"

ADMINISTRATION -- WHITE HOUSE MUZZLED, CENSORED FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: Richard Carmona served as President Bush's first Surgeon General from 2002-2006. Yesterday, he spoke before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and revealed that political appointees in the Bush administration muzzled him on key issues such as "stem cell research, contraceptives and his misgivings about the administration's embrace of 'abstinence-only' sex education." Carmona explained, "[T]he reality is that the 'nation's doctor' has been marginalized and relegated to a position with no independent budget, and with supervisors who are political appointees with partisan agendas. Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological, or political agenda is ignored, marginalized, or simply buried." When he tried to explain the science of stem cell research to the American public, he was "blocked at every turn, told a decision had already been made, stand down, don't talk about it," Carmona said. Additionally, political appointees were specifically assigned to "vet his speeches" and "spin [his] words in such a way that would be preferable to a political or ideologically pre-conceived notion that had nothing to do with science." Carmona said that "administration officials even discouraged him from attending the Special Olympics because...of that charitable organization's longtime ties" to the Kennedy family. "I was specifically told by a senior person, 'Why would you want to help those people?'" Carmona said. During his tenure, Carmona "consulted six previous surgeons general, Republican and Democratic, and all agreed, he said, that he faced more political interference than they had." On Thursday, the Senate will consider the nomination of Dr. James Holsinger to be the next Surgeon General. This time, Bush was sure to nominate someone who has no problem putting ideology over sound science. Holsinger has repeatedly espoused views of homosexuality that have been rejected by the medical community.

ETHICS -- INTERIOR DEPARTMENT OVERSIGHT CHIEF LEAVES TO JOIN FIRM THAT LOBBIES THE DEPARTMENT: Last month, "the day after J. Steven Griles, former deputy Interior secretary, received a 10-month prison sentence for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne issued a memo detailing his ethics plan for the department. The plan included "more comprehensive training and standards for all department employees, including political appointees." Emphasizing his commitment to ethics reform, Kempthorne noted in the memo that he had created a Conduct Accountability Board headed by Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Mark Limbaugh. But Limbaugh, who is "a distant cousin of radio host Rush Limbaugh," announced two days after the memo was released that he will soon "leave the department for the Ferguson Group, a lobby firm that advocates for several local and state water authorities before Interior." "From my perspective, these are temporary jobs. You have to make a living," Limbaugh said. "When you are in a business like natural resources, you are not going out to work for a tire store." "Limbaugh’s departure comes on the heels of his deputy Jason Peltier’s resignation. Peltier left the department in late June to join the Westlands Water District in California, which has interests before Interior, as its chief deputy general manager." Peltier's departure caught the ire of House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), who wrote a letter with Rep. George Miller (D-CA) to Kempthorne, saying they were "deeply troubled by the potential impact Mr. Peltier's use of the 'revolving door' will have on the Department's policymaking." Facing similar questions of impropriety, "Limbaugh says he will adhere to federal rules and not lobby his old post during the one-year 'cooling-off' period."

Former White House aide Sara M. Taylor will refuse to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee today "about matters President Bush has deemed shielded by executive privilege, but she will offer to respond to other questions from senators that do not breach White House confidentiality."

"I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board yesterday. He indicated that his "remarks were based on 'a gut feeling' formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent Al Qaeda statements and intelligence he did not disclose." Keith Olbermann responds.

Sen. David Vitter visited a Canal Street brothel several times "beginning in the mid-1990s, paying $300 per hour for services at the bordello." Attempting to defend Vitter against the solicitation of prostitution charges, the so-called "Canal Street Madam" whose operation was shut down by a federal investigators in 2001 said, "I want his wife to know he's a good man."

"Two senior Justice Department officials said yesterday that they kept Attorney General Alberto Gonzales apprised of FBI violations of civil liberties and privacy safeguards in recent years." Gonzales told Congress: "There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse" after 2001. But Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein said, "I'm sure we've discussed violations that have occurred in the past."

Baseball bats going extinct. At a baseball bat factory tucked into the lush tree country in northwestern Pennsylvania, the operators have drawn up a "three-to-five-year emergency plan" if the white ash tree, which has been used for decades to make the bat of choice, is compromised by the effects of global warming. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service "took the first step yesterday" toward declaring 10 penguin species endangered. Their survival "is deemed at risk in part because of the increasing warmth of the atmosphere and the oceans" because of global warming.

Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) will unveil a bill today that would require "power producers, refiners and steelmakers in the U.S...to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2030." The so-called cap-and-trade system would create a market for trading greenhouse gas permits.

"More than two dozen mortar shells pounded the Green Zone on Tuesday, killing three people, including a U.S. military member, and injuring 18, among them five Americans."

Yesterday, the White House promised to veto a House bill "that would slash subsidies paid to college student-loan companies." The legislation has "been attacked by the $85 billion student-loan industry, but championed by industry critics, including some student groups."

And finally: Congratulations, Springfield, VT! The small New England town (pop. 9,500) beat out 13 other Springfields to host the premiere of The Simpsons Movie. Yesterday, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) issued a statement: "After 18 years, it’s good to finally welcome the Simpsons home. Vermonters love The Simpsons. ... Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie will look great on that yellow carpet with the Green Mountains as a backdrop."