Letters to the Editor
casual_observer
Published Letters: 1339 Editor's Choice: 1
-
RMP @ DOD intelligence
[Read the article: Angry, hateful liberal bloggers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]RMP,
given what Powell gave the world 4 years ago,
My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. I will cite some examples, and these are from human sources.
and
Ladies and gentlemen, these are not assertions. These are facts, corroborated by many sources, some of them sources of the intelligence services of other countries.
and
To support its deadly biological and chemical weapons programs, Iraq procures needed items from around the world using an extensive clandestine network. What we know comes largely from intercepted communications and human sources who are in a position to know the facts.
Iraq's procurement efforts include equipment that can filter and separate micro-organisms and toxins involved in biological weapons, equipment that can be used to concentrate the agent, growth media that can be used to continue producing anthrax and botulinum toxin, sterilization equipment for laboratories, glass-lined reactors and specialty pumps that can handle corrosive chemical weapons agents and precursors, large amounts of vinyl chloride, a precursor for nerve and blister agents, and other chemicals such as sodium sulfide, an important mustard agent precursor.
would you say that the WaPo articles present clear and obvious facts originating from solid sources?
-
Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue
[Read the article: Angry, hateful liberal bloggers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Giuliani wins, what key position would Podhoretz take in the new administration?
-
RMP
[Read the article: Angry, hateful liberal bloggers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"I suspect that they are the primary source for the most sophisticated explosives after the more primitive ones outlived their usefulness due to counter tactics."
What is the actual evidence that Iran is the source? Not referring to govt. sources, but actual, verifiable, evidence?
-
RMP
[Read the article: Angry, hateful liberal bloggers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Here's a piece on this issue by Gareth Porter. You may have already seen it, but just in case...
The Lieberman-Kyle amendment has just passed the Senate overwhelmingly after two sections were removed to satisfy Democrats that it will not serve as a backdoor authorization for war against Iran, using U.S. forces operating in Iran. Even after that compromise, it remains a poison chalice, because it endorses a set of "findings" that are fundamentally false and which are being used by the administration to lay the groundwork for a more aggressive policy toward Iran....
Link to full story at name below.
-
RMP
[Read the article: Angry, hateful liberal bloggers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"BTW, when am I supposed to use @ and not use it?"
Beats the hell outta me.
-
Perception
[Read the article: Adam Smith and the village's amusement at war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Interesting how people can perceive things so differently. Greenwald read, or saw the Obama speech and writes:
"But, at least thus far, there has been little to demonstrate that this is more than a rhetorical campaign theme for Obama..."
Describing presidential candidates as rhetorical is kind of like describing fish as being wet. But the speech I saw last night was clearly the least rhetorical (and best) I've heard Obama or any other candidate give this year. Below are a significant number of specific actions Obama refers to in this speech. These are not rhetorical at all, and they make up a significant portion of his statement. While the speech itself was restrained (he was in 'presidential mode'), it was unusually substantive, and I thought distinctive as well. (i.e. creating separation with Hillary).
Just one other point (apologies for length)--this speech was aimed at least partly at Dean's "democratic wing of the democratic party", and Left Blogistan. I believe it hit the mark. Perhaps Greenwald is just playing hard-to-get.
I will begin to remove our troops from Iraq immediately. I will remove one or two brigades a month, and get all of our combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months.
...
We’ll work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair-trigger alert, and to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of our nuclear weapons and material. We’ll start by seeking a global ban on the production of fissile material for weapons. And we’ll set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that the agreement is global.
...
It’s time to make diplomacy a top priority. Instead of shuttering consulates, we need to open them in the tough and hopeless corners of the world. Instead of having more Americans serving in military bands than the diplomatic corps, we need to grow our foreign service. Instead of retreating from the world, I will personally lead a new chapter of American engagement.
...
And when I’m President, we’ll reject torture – without exception or equivocation; we’ll close Guantanamo; we’ll be the country that credibly tells the dissidents in the prison camps around the world that America is your voice, America is your dream, America is your light of justice.
...
It’s what I’ll do as President. I’ll lead a new era of openness. I’ll give an annual “State of the World” address to the American people in which I lay out our national security policy. I’ll draw on the legacy of one our greatest Presidents – Franklin Roosevelt – and give regular “fireside webcasts,” and I’ll have members of my national security team do the same.
...
I’ll turn the page on a growing empire of classified information, and restore the balance we’ve lost between the necessarily secret and the necessity of openness in a democratic society by creating a new National Declassification Center.
...
I will call for a standing, bipartisan Consultative Group of congressional leaders on national security. I will meet with this Consultative Group every month, and consult with them before taking major military action. The buck will stop with me. But these discussions have to take place on a bipartisan basis, and support for these decisions will be stronger if they draw on bipartisan counsel.