Category: dKo journal

  • Then, Why Not Torture?

    “[Sen. Allen] said the United States needs to interrogate terrorism suspects effectively. ‘I don’t want to stop these interrogations,’ he said. ‘I’m not for torture . . . but some of these techniques have been very helpful to us.’” Article,” Washington Post. DKo: Then why not torture? Wouldn’t those interrogations be even more effective? Wouldn’t…

  • They signed it, didn’t they? The letter stays in the show!

    Military Lawyers Caught in Middle on Tribunals, NYT, 9/15/06 On Wednesday evening, the night before a crucial Senate vote…the Pentagon general counsel, William J. Haynes II, summoned the senior uniformed lawyers [judge advocates general] from each military service to a meeting. …Mr. Haynes sought to enlist the lawyers on the administration’s side by asking whether…

  • I do smell appeasement somewhere.

    Dick Cheney: Some in our own country claim retreat from Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone. ———————————————— DKo: Some in our own country claim conquest of Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the Bush Administration and get them to leave the rest of the world alone.…

  • How Could I Have Missed the Joke?

    For those of a certain age. Republicans’ comments may hurt at polls, AP “One Republican senator [Burns, MT], described his house painter as a ‘little Guatemalan man.’ Another [Allen, VA], called an Indian man a ‘macaca,’ a type of monkey.” “[T]he comments by Burns and Allen have garnered heavy attention as their party is trying…

  • Two Red Herrings

    My Google news alerts have whispered to me that two Red Herrings are diverting the focus of media coverage these days. Since I seem to have been programmed from youth to pass on what I think I’ve learned, here’s my guesswork: Iran Sanctions. The solidity of the six-nation alliance confronting Iran is thought to rest…

  • The Office of The Suspector

    There has been speculation* that somewhere in the national security establishment there is an official known as The Suspector. When someone wants to wiretap conversations with an individual, they bring that person’s name to The Suspector, and ask, “Do you suspect this person of having terrorist connections?” The Suspector says, “Yes.” (After all, you are…