Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki Supports Obama’s Troops Exit Plan

By- Suzie-Q @ 7:23 PM MST

Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Obama Troop Exit Plan

Reuters |   July 19, 2008 09:33 AM

From Reuters:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.

“U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.”

It is the first time he has backed the withdrawal timetable put forward by Obama.

Dr. Susan Rice, senior national security advisor to the Obama Campaign, issued this statement in response to al-Maliki’s declaration of support:

Senator Obama welcomes Prime Minister Maliki’s support for a 16 month timeline for the redeployment of U.S combat brigades. This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan.

Joe Klein, writing on the Time Magazine website, said that Maliki’s position is a bad omen for the McCain campaign:

In short, what Maliki is saying is: Please leave, as soon as possible. He may be saying this for local, political reasons, in the runup to the regional Iraqi elections, but he’s saying it.
In the U.S., this is all bad news for the McCain campaign. Yes, McCain was right about the Surge, but that is a small, tactical truth too complicated to be understood by most Americans. Maliki Endorses Obama Withdrawal Plan is a headline everyone can understand. Maliki is also endorsing another position favored by Obama and opposed by McCain: no long-term (100 year) bases.

With this happening in the same week that the Bush Administration not only has agreed to sit down with the Iranians but also (and even more significant) is exploring the possibility of establishing a U.S. diplomatic Interests Section in Tehran, another of McCain’s foreign policy pillars–the nonrecognition of Iran–seems to be cratering as well.

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They’re Popping Left And Right..

GEF @ 8:58 PM ET

Commercial bankruptcies soar, reflecting widening economic woes

Tony Pugh | McClatchy Newspapers

July 19, 2008 05:01:14 PM

WASHINGTON — Driven by a sour economy and skittish consumers, U.S. business bankruptcies saw their sharpest quarterly rise in two years, jumping 17 percent in the second quarter of 2008, according to an analysis by McClatchy.

Commercial filings for the first half of 2008 are up 45 percent from last year, as the national climate for commerce continues to deteriorate amid rising energy and food costs, mounting job losses, tighter credit and a reticence among consumers to part with discretionary income.

From April through June, 15,471 U.S. businesses called it quits, according to data from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, an Oklahoma City bankruptcy management and data company.

States that saw the biggest increase in filings were Delaware, Montana, Oregon, Maryland and Connecticut, suggesting that the economic gloom is spreading beyond large population centers.

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Phil Gramm Resigns As McCain Adviser

By- Suzie-Q @ 12:30 PM MST

Phil Gramm Resigns From McCain Campaign

July 18, 2008 08:10 PM EST |

NEW YORK — Phil Gramm, a top adviser to presidential candidate John McCain, is resigning from the role as campaign co-chairman after his comments that the United States had become a “nation of whiners” who constantly complain about the state of the economy.

The former U.S. senator from Texas and past presidential candidate made the remarks earlier this month. McCain immediately distanced himself from the comments, but they have been criticized constantly as McCain tries to show he can help steer the country past its current financial troubles.

Gramm had also suggested that the country was facing a “mental recession” instead of real economic problems. Gramm said in a statement late Friday that he is stepping down as a co-chair of the campaign to “end this distraction.”

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Special Counsel To Investigate CIA Rendition?

By- Suzie-Q @ 11:35 AM MST

Judiciary Committee chairman requests special counsel to investigate CIA rendition

RAW STORY
Published: Thursday July 10, 2008

BREAKING 4:02 PM ET // FROM A HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE RELEASE…..

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Foreign Affairs Chairman of the International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee, Bill Delahunt (D-MA), today called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to appoint a special counsel to investigate the rendition of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, to Syria.

Returning home to Canada in September 2002, Mr. Arar was detained at JFK airport in New York based on false intelligence suggesting ties to terrorist activity. Despite finding that he would likely be subject to torture, Mr. Arar was then removed to Syria at the direction of the Commissioner of the INS and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Arar was subsequently imprisoned for nearly a year and tortured.

In June, the former Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Clark Ervin testified before a joint Judiciary and Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing that he believed that U.S. officials intended to render Mr. Arar to Syria, rather than allowing him to continue on to Canada, because of the likelihood that he would be tortured in Syria.

Upon Mr. Arar’s return to Canada in 2003, the Canadian government conducted an exhaustive investigation concluding that no evidence linked Mr. Arar to terrorist groups or suggested a security threat and awarded him nearly $10 million in damages. The DHS Office of the Inspector General conducted its own four-year investigation into the matter, yet its investigators lacked subpoena authority and were frequently stymied by numerous privilege claims.

“Mr. Arar’s rendition to Syria, with the knowledge he would be subject to torture, demands a thorough investigation into the conduct of the Department of Justice and U.S. immigration officials,” said Conyers. “Given the involvement of high-ranking administration officials in this matter, and the stonewalling encountered in the DHS Inspector General’s investigation, the appointment of a special counsel is clearly necessary.”

“The Inspector General’s public report reveals that Administration officials sent Mr. Arar to Syria knowing that he likely would be tortured,” said Rep. Nadler. “This is at odds with everything we stand for as a free and just nation, and the Administration’s unwillingness to expose how and why this happened has fueled public concern and criticism. We urge Attorney General Mukasey to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate Mr. Arar’s case to ensure a fair investigation is conducted to examine these serious allegations of wrongdoing.”

“The startling revelation that attorneys within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General were intimately involved in this case is sufficient cause for an outside review,” said Delahunt. “This is the only way to make sure that those who had a hand in Mr. Arar’s rendition to torture will be held accountable.”

The full text of the correspondence may be found here.

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