State Dept Coverup: Did US Diplomat Approve Deal on Shoddy Ammunition?

This morning, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will get a letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about allegations that the U.S. Ambassador to Albania held a late-night meeting with that country’s Defense Minister and approved “removing evidence of the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition being shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by [...]

Popularity: 10%

Words Hurt: Feith Backs Out of Congressional Hearing Due to ‘Personal Attacks’

Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, was scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary committee today in its examination of the role played by Pentagon lawyers in developing and approving aggressive interrogation techniques.
But when Feith found out this morning that he would have to sit next to Larry Wilkerson, Colin Powel’s former [...]

Popularity: 13%

Report: Fighting in Iraq, Leaving Homeland Unguarded

According to a new Government Accountability report, funding for Operation Noble Eagle, which involves operations in defense of the homeland, has dropped precipitously from $27.9 billion in 2002 to $89.3 million in 2007.
The reason: “largely because of the completion of repairs to the Pentagon and upgrades in security at military installations that were onetime costs, [...]

Popularity: 16%

Report: Did Rumsfeld Lie to Congress About Pre-War Intelligence?

According to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s most recent report on pre-war intelligence, then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld may have twisted the truth in his testimony to Congress about the existence of underground WMD facilities:
“The Secretary of Defense’s statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because [...]

Popularity: 7%

Bush: We’ll Be in Iraq for 40 Years, Hamas Election Was “Good Thing”

When NBC News correspondent Richard Engel sat down with President Bush last year for an interview, he had little idea how much Bush would reveal about his true intentions and his real sentiments about the war on terror and America’s allies and enemies.

Among the excerpts of the interview captured in Engel’s new book, “War Journal: My [...]

Popularity: 100%

The Torture Playlist: Meow Mix Jingle, Neil Diamond & Metallica

Guards and interrogators at military prisons and bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have used music to induce sleep deprivation, “prolong capture shock,” disorient detainees during interrogations — and also drown out screams.
This is the playlist of songs and jingles that Mother Jones compiled recently “based on a leaked interrogation log, news reports, and the accounts [...]

Popularity: 29%

McClellan Lashes Media: “Complicit Enablers” of Iraq War

UPDATE: White House spokesperson Dana Perino, clearly frustrated, just told reporters asking her about the McClellan book: “I think that horse has been beaten enough.”
UPDATE: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer just defended the network’s coverage in the lead-up to the Iraq War, telling Howard Kurtz that “we could have done even better” in retrospect.
Some of the choice excerpts from Scott McClellan’s new [...]

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Video of the Day: One Winter Soldier’s Tale from Iraq

Jon Michael Turner, an Iraq War veteran, described his experiences shooting and killing innocent civilians at the “Winter Solder: Iraq and Afghanistan” conference in the spring of 2008.
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Earmark Alert: $3.6B
For Unwanted C-17 Planes

Tucked in the emergency Iraq supplemental funding bill is $3.6 billion for 15 new C-17 cargo planes.
That’s despite the fact that the Pentagon never requested the planes, which don’t play much of a role in military operations in Iraq.
Instead, the funding is intended to keep the C-17 production line rolling and safeguard jobs at their Long [...]

Popularity: 12%

Video of the Day: Bush Visits Decrepit Barracks at Fort Bragg

Today, President Bush toured the 82nd Airborne Division barracks at Fort Bragg where a paratrooper’s father shot video of substandard conditions, including sewage standing in a bathroom, shortly after his son returned from an 18-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.
“These buildings are coming down. I know you appreciate it, the soldiers appreciate it,” said Bush.
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