INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Bush's Last Lap

Departing on Monday for what some have termed "a farewell tour," President Bush will attend his final NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, followed by meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin. The NATO summit "will host no fewer than 60 leaders from NATO states, partners and aspirant members, plus Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon." Bush's European trip takes place against the backdrop of what many have regarded as an arrogant and unilateralist foreign policy legacy, one "frayed by the Iraq war," the war in Afghanistan, and the United States's controversial and divisive global war on terror. "Many [European leaders] are looking forward now to the next president," said Julianne Smith, a Europe analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There seems to be a great deal of enthusiasm...on the other side of the Atlantic, that there's going to be some revitalization of the trans-Atlantic partnership and we start with a clean slate and a new chapter." True to form, Bush began the NATO summit with a minor faux pas when he attempted to prematurely end a joint press conference, a privilege usually reserved for the host, in this case Romanian President Traian Basescu. Basescu indicated that he was not finished, and Bush was forced to return to his podium. 

CONTINUING NATO OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, KOSOVO: "We expect our NATO allies to shoulder the burden necessary to succeed," Bush said of the mission in Afghanistan, in which 47,000 NATO forces are currently a part. "If we do not defeat the terrorists in Afghanistan, we will face them on our own soil. Innocent civilians in Europe and North America would then pay the price," Bush said. He pressed members of the 26-nation alliance to follow the example of France, Poland, and Romania in providing extra troops for Afghanistan. French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed on Thursday that he intended to send a battalion (between 700 and 800) of French troops to Afghanistan, and later suggested that, in addition, "France might send 200 special forces." Also on the agenda was the continuing NATO operation in Kosovo, which recently declared independence from neighboring Serbia. According to the Center for American Progress's Spencer Boyer and Caroline Wadhams, "there has been sporadic violence in the region since independence was declared, including attacks on U.N. personnel and NATO forces." Over 15,000 NATO troops are currently stationed in Kosovo.

NATO ENLARGEMENT: Bush has indicated that he intends to push for NATO enlargement as one element of his foreign policy legacy. He stated, "NATO should welcome Georgia and Ukraine into the Membership Action Plan. And, NATO membership must remain open to all of Europe's democracies that seek it, and are ready to share in the responsibilities of NATO membership." At a separate conference earlier Wednesday, Bush stated that "NATO is no longer a static alliance focused on defending Europe from a Soviet tank invasion. ... It is now an expeditionary alliance that is sending its forces across the world to help secure a future of freedom and peace for millions." Bush "said he was prepared to argue his case at a dinner of all NATO leaders on Wednesday night." Russia strongly opposes further NATO enlargement in what it considers its sphere of influence. Germany and France have said they will block any invitation to Ukraine and Georgia. James Goldgeier of the Council on Foreign Relations stated that "the German position is that ... they would like to try to establish good relations with that [Russian] president. They don't want something like this, which Russia really opposes, to get in the way." On Thursday, NATO announced that it had "agreed to put off a plan to put Ukraine and Georgia on track to join the military alliance." NATO also announced that it would "not invite Macedonia to join after protests from Greece over Macedonia's name," though Albania and Croatia would be invited to join the organization.

MISSILE DEFENSE OPPOSED BY RUSSIA: Another major point of contention between the alliance and Russia is the proposed missile defense system. Bush has advocated siting parts of the system in Central and Eastern Europe, something Moscow also strongly opposes. Trying to calm Russian fears, Bush assured Russia that the missile defense plan "is not an attempt to resurrect Cold War tensions, [but] is necessary to counter an emerging threat from Iran." On Thursday, U.S. officials announced that they had secured agreements "to base a missile defense radar on Czech soil," as well as "10 interceptor missiles in Poland." On Sunday, Bush and Putin will meet at Putin's Black Sea residence. According to Kremlin sources, the two leaders "will sign a document outlining the framework for strategic relations between their two countries" at the meeting. The U.S.-Russia relationship has grown increasingly tense in the seven years since Bush and Putin's first meeting in June 2001, when press reports noted that the two men had "hit it off" like "the best of friends." In the intervening years, Bush has periodically indicated dissatisfaction with Russia's lack of democratic progress, and with Putin's steady consolidation of power. Having arranged for a former aide, Dmitry Medvedev, to take over the Russian presidency, Putin is unlikely to hand over the reins of power along with the office.

Under the Radar

JUSTICE -- JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATING FIRING OF CAREER ATTORNEY FOR BEING GAY: The Justice Department Inspector General is investigating whether Monica Goodling -- a key player in the U.S. Attorney scandal -- fired a career department attorney in late 2006 "because of rumors that she is a lesbian." Despite the fact that the attorney, Leslie Hagen, "received the highest possible ratings for her work," several people interviewed said "they came away with the impression that" she was fired "because of the talk about her sexual orientation." NPR areports that Goodling, who had served as senior counsel to Alberto Gonzales, "had a particular interest in Hagen's duties." One Republican source said, "To some people, that's [homosexuality] even worse than being a Democrat." Last year, the Justice Department Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility investigated the types of questions applicants had faced when applying to jobs at the department under the leadership of Alberto Gonzales. They found that applicants had been asked about not only their political affiliation, but also more personal information, including religious beliefs and sexual orientation.

MILITARY -- REPORT FINDS ARMY UNCERTAIN OF BODY ARMOR SAFETY: A Defense Department Inspector General report released yesterday found that the "Army can't be sure some of its body armor met safety standards" because it "repeatedly failed to follow federal contracting rules in procuring billions of dollars worth" of the protective vests for American soldiers. According to the report, "in nearly half of the body-armor contracts given out between January 2004 and December 2006...the Army failed to require or perform so-called 'first article testing' designed to catch and correct any defects in the body-armor manufacturing process." The Army also "failed to maintain appropriate records to justify why a number of contracts were awarded in the first place." Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), who initially requested the report, said that "during a time of war, it's shameful that the Army would not scrupulously ensure that every piece of equipment is properly tested, especially a fundamentally life-and-death product such as body armor." She added, "Whoever is responsible for this needs to be fired."

ENVIRONMENT -- INTERIOR SECRETARY FAILS TO APPEAR AT HEARING ON POLAR BEARS: Environmental groups have long noted that "global warming has already severely and adversely affected the polar bear" by causing sea ice to melt throughout the Arctic. Subsequently, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) required the Department of the Interior to rule by Jan. 9, 2008, on whether the polar bear should be listed as an endangered species, but the Department has failed to do so. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee requested that Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne appear before the committee yesterday to discuss why the department had still, three years later, failed to meet the deadline set by the ESA. But Kempthorne refused to attend the hearing, instead sending a letter which stated that he would not appear because he is the defendant in a pending case on the same matter. In response, Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) lashed out at Kempthorne. "Time has run out for this decision to be made," Boxer said. "Mr. Kempthorne not being here, I believe, is a slap at this committee and a slap at the American people who care about this."

Think Fast

"For a man who came into office as the nation's first M.B.A. president, Mr. Bush has sometimes seemed invisible during the housing and credit crunch," writes The New York Times. Even Bush's conservative allies say that the President "is being eclipsed and is in danger of looking out of touch." As Congress scrambled to "produce a bill to help struggling homeowners," Bush left for Eastern Europe.

"For at least 16 months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001, the Bush administration believed that the Constitution's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures on U.S. soil didn't apply to its efforts to protect against terrorism," according to "a secret Justice Department legal memo dated Oct. 23, 2001." The memo's existence was disclosed "Tuesday in a footnote of a separate secret memo" about interrogation policy.

More than 1,000 people attended a rally Wednesday in support of a Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern (R), who was "widely criticized" for a saying homosexuality is "the biggest threat our nation has." Kern said the rally affirms the rights of those "who want to stand up for the truth of God's word."

Recent surveys by the National Patient Advocate Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that "[p]eople with health insurance are having more trouble paying for prescription drugs as higher out-of-pocket costs for medications and a slowing economy strain family budgets."

Yesterday, a bipartisan group of seven senators proposed legislation that would "improve health care for female soldiers returning from duty in Iraq and require the Veteran Administration's mental health staff to be trained to counsel victims of sexual assault."

"Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Thursday for a million-strong demonstration against U.S. 'occupation,' a potentially destabilizing show of force after his followers battled U.S. and government troops. The demonstration would take place next Wednesday April 9, the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, when the U.S. commander in Iraq is also scheduled to brief Congress in Washington about progress in the war."

Just before the March recess, "House Democrats thought they were close to getting a deal on an immigration package." But according to Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) "a senior Republican came to him" to derail the bill, saying that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "didn't want to deal with immigration this year."

And finally: Edward Gabriel was the U.S. ambassador to Morocco from 1997 to 2001. Yesterday, an "in memoriam" ad ran in The Washington Post titled "Ed Gabriel: A Partner for Life." Gabriel, however, is not dead. The ad was an April Fools' Day prank by an old friend, J. Peter Segall. Gabriel fielded calls all day from people who thought he had passed away, including one woman who had cried for two hours after seeing the ad. Segall later admitted that his joke was "very stupid."

Good News

"Installed U.S. wind energy capacity grew nearly 45 percent last year to 16,800 megawatts, or about enough to serve 4.5 million homes, as interest in low-carbon power grew."

State Watch

[Text of State Watch]

MISSOURI: New report from federal government calls the quality of Missouri's health care "average."

CIVIL RIGHTS: Senators criticize the Department of Homeland Security for pressuring reluctant states to comply with Real ID.

HEALTH CARE: "In total, 29 states have pursued legislation on toy safety, with 20 of those states taking steps to ban four toxic substances."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: CNN's Glenn Beck: Wal-Mart made a "deal with terrorists" in ending its lawsuit against brain-damaged employee.

WONK ROOM: One year after global warming mandate, the Environmental Protection Agency delays and hides.

SFIST: Coming soon: "George W. Bush Sewage Plant."

TPM MUCKRAKER: The timeline behind former Justice Department official John Yoo's secret torture memo.

Daily Grill

"But the fact is we're going to need, as we have after every conflict we've been in,World War II, Korea, etc., we're going want to leave troops there to secure the peace that our soldiers have won."
-- Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), 4/1/08

VERSUS

""Tonight, the day we have all worked and prayed for has finally come. For the first time in 12 years, no American military forces are in Vietnam. All of our American POW's are on their way home."
-- President Nixon, 3/29/73

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