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THINK PROGRESS
The Progress Report

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

July 21, 2008

IRAQ

Demanding Withdrawal

Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki raised the prospect of "setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington." "Today, we are looking at the necessity of terminating the foreign presence on Iraqi lands and restoring full sovereignty," Maliki told Arab ambassadors in Abu Dhabi. However, the Bush administration rejected Maliki's demands. A State Department spokesman said that any U.S. withdrawal would be "conditions based." "Timelines tend to be artificial in nature," a Pentagon spokesperson added. But perhaps remembering his previous stance that if the Iraqis "were to say, 'leave,' we'll leave," President Bush agreed last week to a "general time horizon" for withdrawal, adding a caveat that the timeframe being discussed would not be "arbitrary." Maliki contniues to keep up the pressure. When asked this weekend by Der Spiegel when he thinks U.S. troops should leave Iraq, Maliki replied, "as soon as possible." Then Maliki expressed support for Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) plan to exit Iraq: "Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." Moreover, Maliki specifically rejected the Bush administration's argument against timetables. "The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a concrete timetable for the exit because it seems like an admission of defeat to them," Maliki told Der Spiegel. "But it isn't."

MUST BE A TRANSCRIPTION ERROR: Soon after Maliki said last month that the United States should set a timetable for withdrawal, the administration suggested that Maliki's remarks were the result of a transcription error, a point that multiple press accounts -- as well as Maliki's office -- had debunked. In similar fashion, this weekend, the White House rushed to discredit Maliki's new call for withdrawal. On Sunday, an Iraqi government spokesman called Maliki's remarks "misunderstood and mistranslated" but offered no specifics. In fact, the statement was released by the U.S. military and came only after "officials at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad contacted Maliki's office to express concern and seek clarification on the remarks, according to White House spokesman Scott Stanzel." But the so-called clarification belies the reality: not only did Der Spiegel stand by its version of the conversation with Maliki, but "the interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Maliki's office, not the magazine." Moreover, Der Spiegel provided the New York Times with an audio recording of the Maliki interview. The Times concluded that Maliki "seemed to state a clear affinity" for the 16-month withdrawal plan.

'LET'S SQUEEZE THEM': The Associated Press's Baghdad bureau reported yesterday that Maliki's embrace of a 16-month timetable is part of his "strategy to play U.S. politics for the best deal possible over America's military mission" in Iraq. The AP reported that "the goal is not necessarily to push out the Americans quickly, but instead give Iraqis a major voice in how long U.S. troops stay and what they will do while still there" and to boost Maliki's "nationalist credentials." According to "senior Iraqi officials," Maliki "sensed desperation by the Americans to wrap up a [security] deal quickly before the presidential campaign was in full swing." "Let's squeeze them," Maliki told his advisers. "The squeeze came July 7, when Maliki announced in Abu Dhabi that Iraq wanted the base deal to include some kind of timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops." "This isn't so much Maliki speaking as [it is] Maliki playing to restive Iraqi public opinion," Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall observed regarding the AP report. Marshall added that "it is a distinction without a difference. If an Iraqi leader must oppose a continuing US military presence in order to stay in power, then clearly the days of the US military presence in Iraq are numbered."

McCAIN CAMPAIGN 'F*CKED': Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has based much of his presidential campaign on the situation in Iraq. He has said that having the U.S. military stay in Iraq for 100 years "would be fine with me" and that calls for withdrawal amount to "surrender" and are "really inexcusable." McCain actually denied that Maliki had initially called for a withdrawal timeline, like Bush, responded by saying that "we will withdraw with honor, not according to a set timetable." At the same time, a McCain spokesman said recently that the senator "has always been clear that American forces operate in Iraq only with the consent of that country's democratically elected government." McCain made a similar statement himself, saying in 2004, "I think it's obvious that we would have to leave" if the Iraqi government requests a withdrawal. But in a statement, McCain's campaign dismissed Maliki's most recent call for a withdrawal timetable to Der Spiegel, insisting that "withdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground. Maliki has repeatedly affirmed the same view, and did so again today." In fact, a senior McCain official said that "voters care about [the] military, not about Iraqi leaders." In the face of all the contradiction, a "prominent Republican strategist" who occasionally provides advice to the McCain campaign said more candidly, "We're f*cked."

POLITICS -- PROGRESSIVES LEADERS PELOSI AND GORE SPEAK TO NETROOTS NATION: Yesterday marked the conclusion of Netroots Nation, a five-day convention of progressive bloggers and activists in Austin, TX. During the course of the conference, attendees heard keynote addresses from Gen. Wesley Clark, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Al Gore, among other speakers. Pelosi answered questions for over 40 minutes on a variety of topics and criticized the Senate for failing to pass the House's FISA bill that did not include immunity for telecommunications companies. Asked if she would redirect money from abstinence-only programs to sex education, Pelosi said, "Yes," adding that the current program "caters to a radical right-wing view." In a surprise appearance, Gore repeated his call to derive 100 percent of America's electricity from renewable sources in 10 years and said that the North Polar ice cap was likely to melt completely within five years. Gore also ridiculed as "absurd" conservatives' push to drill for more oil: "There used to be an old-timey remedy for hangovers called 'the hair of the dog that bit ya.' They'd recommend going in and just having another drink in the morning if you had a hangover. Well, that's sort, that's sort of what that reminds me of." He added, "When you're in a hole, stop digging!"

HUMAN RIGHTS -- BRITISH REPORT SAYS NOT TO TRUST U.S. ASSURANCES REGARDING TORTURE: A report released Sunday by the British parliament's foreign affairs committee says that the British government should not rely on assurances from the U.S. government that it does not torture terrorism suspects, after "Britain had previously taken those assurances at face value." The main difference between the two countries that the report cites is the definition of waterboarding as torture. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said that the controversial technique is torture, but President Bush vetoed a bill that would ban CIA use of the method. The committee concluded that "Given the clear differences in definition, the UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture." The committee also suggested that the British government conduct "exhaustive analysis of current US interrogation techniques." The report also challenges the British government to investigate further whether British land has been used for "rendition" flights by the United States, after allegations that two American planes carrying terrorism suspects had landed and refueled on the British-held Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

ADMINISTRATION -- ROVE DEFIES SUBPEONA, FLEES TO RESORT IN YALTA: Earlier this month, Karl Rove refused to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to testify about the politicization of the Justice Department, despite a Congressional subpeona. While Rove justified his absence citing executive privlege, the House Judiciary Committee voted 7-1 that such claims were "invalid." During the hearing, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) revealed that Rove had skipped the country "on trip scheduled long before the subpoena was sent." Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) said Rove’s attorney, Robert Luskin, "never mentioned" the trip to the Committee. Yesterday, Newsweek reported that Rove had fled to Yalta, "the historic Black Sea resort in Ukraine." "There Rove, who generally charges a reported $40,000 per talk, appeared on a premier panel...on the upcoming U.S. election." Luskin didn't see a problem with Rove's international adventure, asking Newsweek, "[W]hat was he supposed to do, sit at home with his lights off?" Congress, however, may hold Rove in contempt of Congress.

"Bush administration officials agreed that greenhouse gases could endanger the public and should be regulated under clean-air laws, but later reversed course amid opposition from Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the oil industry, a congressional report said." The "report is inaccurate to the point of being laughable," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

The first military commissions trial at Guantanamo Bay begins today, with the trial of Salim Ahmed Hamdan. "Unlike a civilian trial, even if the defendant is acquitted of conspiracy and material support of terrorism charges, he probably will not be released."

Associate counsel Leslie Fahrenkopf is the second Bush administration official, after speechwriter Bill McGurn, this year "to switch bosses from Bush to Rupert Murdoch." "After stepping down from the White House on July 11, Fahrenkopf starts in September as vice president and associate general counsel of News Corp."

A new study, by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law finds that "poorly designed ballots continue to plague U.S. elections, even after Congress set aside $3 billion to overhaul voting systems." Since 2000, various problems have "led thousands of voters to skip over key races or make mistakes that invalidated their votes."

"United States and NATO missile and mortar strikes continued to exact a heavy toll on Afghans over the weekend, killing at least 13 in two attacks that Afghan officials said were mistakes."

"The principal source of funding for highway projects will soon hit a big financial pothole" due to rising fuel prices. With motorists cutting back on driving and buying more fuel-efficient cars, "the government is taking in less money from the federal gasoline tax,"” which means that "the federal highway trust fund could be in the red by $3.2 billion or more next year."

And finally: Jenna Bush's ex moves into the White House. Despite being a college dropout, Blake Gottesman, 28, returns to the White House today as deputy chief of staff. Gottesman had worked as Bush's personal aide for four years, and had dated Jenna Bush in high school.

On Friday, the Senate plans to begin debating the "Coburn Omnibus," a set of bills "that have broad bipartisan support but have been held up" by Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) objections, including stroke prevention legislation, lateral sclerosis legislation, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act, and the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment Act.

CALIFORNIA: "The number of foreigners landing in Los Angeles Immigration Court has surged in recent years, while the number of judges has remained about the same, causing crushing caseloads and lengthy delays."

NEW YORK: Gov. David Paterson (D) expected to ask legislature "to create a low-cost student loan program to make New York more competitive with other states."

CIVIL LIBERTIES: "The deadline for implementing REAL ID has been extended to 2014, and so the fight between states and the Department of Homeland Security over a federally approved, state-issued identification card is cooling off, at least for the moment."

THINK PROGRESS: Former U.S. attorney David Iglesias: Karl Rove won't testify "to keep himself from being indicted."

WONK ROOM: A "thaw in Arab diplomatic recognition of Iraq."

THE ONE BLOG: Center for American Progress President John Podesta on his trip to Rwanda: "One of the most powerful experiences I have had."

BURNT ORANGE REPORT: In a news article, the Austin American-Statesman claims House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is "so left-leaning" that "her parenthetical should be D-Beijing."

"[T]his government does not torture people. You know, we stick to U.S. law and our international obligations.."
-- President Bush, 10/5/07

VERSUS

"The British government should not rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, a report by MPs says. The foreign affairs select committee said the UK and US differ on their definitions of what constitutes torture and it urged the UK to check US claims. "
-- BBC, 7/19/08

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