governmentality

Sunday Talk Shows 7/5

On tap this week:

NBC's Meet the Press: Programming Note: Meet the Press will not air Sunday, July 5 due to NBC's coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals.

CBS' Face the Nation: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ABC's

This Week: Vice President Joe Biden and a roundtable with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Liz Cheney, ABC's Matthew Dowd and George Will and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ABC News contributor Cynthia Tucker

Get the full line-up at FishbowlDC.

Sarah Palin Resigns as Alaska Governor

Sarah Palin will resign as Governor of Alaska effective July 25. Very curious circumstances.

More to come shortly, but in the meantime...

From AFP:

Palin told a surprise press conference at her lakefront Wasilla, Alaska home that she wanted to "take a stand and effect change, not just hit our head against the wall and watch valuable state time and money."

"I promised effectiveness. I am not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual. I promised that four years ago and I meant it," Palin said.

"That's not what is best for Alaska at this time."

Palin, a former sports journalist, said it was "time to pass the ball for victory."

"I am determined to take the right path for Alaska even though it is unconventional and it is not so comfortable. With this announcement that I am not seeking re-election, I have determined it is best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell."

She said that she would rather "effect positive change outside government at this moment in time on another scale and actually make a differences for our priorities."

Get the full report here.

Syria Invites Obama for Visit

Not only is the U.S. sending an ambassador back to Syria after a four year absence, but now Syrian President Bashar al-Asad has informally invited President Obama to visit Syria.

From al-Arabiya:

"We would like to welcome him to Syria, definitely," Assad told Britain's Sky News in an interview broadcast on Friday. "I am very clear about this."

Asked whether a meeting could take place any time soon, Assad replied: "That depends on him." Smiling, he added: "I will ask you to convey the invitation to him."

Get the full report here.

Iran Putting British Embassy Staff on Trial

Last week, when Iran was blaming the BBC and Voice of America for inciting the "riots" among Iranians, they also arrested British embassy staff in Tehran allegedly for doing the same thing.

And now, al-Arabiya reports:

The head of Iran's powerful Guardians Council, Ahmad Jannati, said embassy staff have "made confessions" and said "in these incidents, their embassy had a presence, some people were arrested. Naturally they will be put on trial."

The British government insists these charges are completely unfounded and says that seven of the nine staff members originally arrested have been released. 

And it looks like the U.S. isn't the most hated anymore:

In his first speech since the unrest began, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slammed Britain as the "most evil" of the Islamic Republic's enemies, which Prime Minister Gordon Brown said was "unfortunate" as tension between the two nations rose.

Read the full report here.

Fuzzy on Obama vs. Obama

Muslim Brothers Files to Ban Ahmadinejad from Egypt

A lawyer from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has filed papers to keep Ahmadinejad from entering Egypt ahead of meetings of the Non-Aligned Movements scheduled for mid-July at Sharm el-Sheikh.

In the complaint, Mamdouh Ismail calls for arresting and trying the Iranian president for election fraud.

From al-Arabiya:

"Ahmadinejad's visit to the Sinai Peninsula is a threat to national security and he has to be banned from entering the country, and if he does, he has to be arrested and prosecuted," Ismail told Al Arabiya.

[...]

"If he is not the legitimate president, then he shouldn't be received in Egypt as such. His illegitimacy is obvious in the protests against him inside Iran," said Ismail.

Read the full report here.

The Real Cost of Palin's Ethics Complaints

McClatchy reports today that the ethics complaints against Sarah Palin have cost the state personnel board $296,000. Essentially two-thirds of the expense are related to the Troopergate case.

Palin has repeatedly stated that Alaska is wasting money trying to resolve "frivolous" complaints against her and the top members of her administration. Yet, Palin advanced a number of ethics cases (read: racked up the expenditures herself) as a way to forestall legislative investigation into the complaints against her--especially on the Troopergate case.

According to the report, the personnel board refers to the expenses as:

"independent counsel expenditures." The board hires private lawyers to investigate the complaints. The expenditures were released after the personnel board expressed frustration at the costs of the complaints.

[...]

The newly released expense list doesn't specify the nature of each case listed. It only provides internal case numbers followed by the total expenses incurred for each one of the cases. The board won't say which case numbers correspond with which complaint, or provide a detailed breakdown of the expenses. Under state law, ethics complaints are secret unless the subject of the complaint waives privacy.

Read the full report here.

Michele Bachmann vs. the Census

Ex-CIA Station Chief Charged with Rape

Remember earlier this year when that CIA station chief was accused of sexual assault, rape and videotaping it all?

Well, six months later and he's finally charged. And he could face life in prison if convicted according to the Department of Justice. 

From Reuters:

Andrew Warren, 41, was charged with one count of sexual abuse for allegedly assaulting a woman, who was not named, on Feb. 17, 2008. The federal grand jury's indictment was returned under seal on June 18 and made public on Tuesday.

The State Department earlier this year confirmed that the United States was investigating allegations that the CIA station chief in Algeria had raped at least two Muslim women after lacing their drinks with a drug.

The indictment charged that the victim was "incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct and was physically incapable of declining participating in, or communicating unwillingness to engage in the sexual act."

After surrendering his passport, Warren was released.

Getting Rid of Avigdor Lieberman

Last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he replace ultra right-wing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and then compared him to the anti-immigrant French politician, Jean-Marie Le Pen.

"You must get rid of this person," Haaretz and Ynet quoted Sarkozy as telling Netanyahu.

Netanyahu's office defended Lieberman saying that Lieberman is "fully committed to peace and security" and was "an important member of the elected government of the democratic State of Israel."

It's no secret that Lieberman is nuts, a fraud and ultimately kind of a jackass. You can get a taste of that here, here, here and here.

Oh, and let's not forget how he suggested bombing the Suez Canal, making him still unwelcome in Egypt--the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

But never mind what all these "outsiders" are saying. The clearest, most succinct critique yet is coming from within Israel in today's Haaretz ("Sarkozy is Right").

At present Israel does not have a functioning foreign minister. The international community refuses to speak to a politician who is considered racist in the wake of the campaign conducted by his party, Yisrael Beiteinu, against Arab citizens during the recent Knesset election campaign. There is not and cannot be any other way to interpret Sarkozy's comparison between Lieberman and far-right French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.

And in the U.S.:

When Lieberman was recently invited to Washington, the U.S. administration expressed its dissatisfaction with him by demonstrating a preferential attitude toward Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was invited to meet with President Barack Obama. Lieberman's predecessors in the Foreign Ministry, Tzipi Livni (Kadima) and Silvan Shalom (Likud), were also invited to such meetings with the president during their visits to Washington. He was not.

And when it comes to Russia and the Palestinians:

Lieberman's bizarre attempt to offer an alternative diplomatic policy, whose main feature is a strengthening of strategic cooperation with Russia as a counterweight to the Obama administration, collapsed embarrassingly right from the start. Before inviting Lieberman to Moscow, the Russians sent their foreign minister to a meeting with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal.

If Netanyahu keeps Lieberman in place, I guess we know what his commitment is to the international community and what his plans are for the Palestinians.

Read the full editorial in Haaretz here.

Nico Pitney vs. Dana Milbank Over Obama Question

UN Listens to Testimony of Gazan War Victims

From al-Arabiya:

Palestinian victims and witnesses of Israel`s three week offensive on Gaza described Sunday  the gruesome details of war to a United Nations human rights mission which aims to broadcast the voices of war victims to the international community.

The delegation planned to hold two days of public hearings as part of its investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the 22-day offensive launched in late December, which killed 1,420 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

The group is headed by Richard Goldstone, a South African judge who previously served as chief prosecutor for international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Read the full report here.

Hamas Losing Popularity Among Palestinians

The Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre released the results of a poll showing that Fatah has the  support of 38.5 percent of the population, whereas Hamas has 18.8 percent. The rest goes to smaller parties.

This is a major change since the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections when Hamas won 74 parliamentary seats compared to Fatah's 45.

From al-Arabiya:

According to the poll, 26.5 percent of those surveyed blamed Israel for the deadlock in the Hamas-Fatah dialogue while 23.5 percent pointed a finger at Hamas and 15.5 percent said Fatah was responsible.

Only 17.8 percent of Palestinians trust Abbas, but he is still the most trusted Palestinian personality, followed by the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah, with 14.8 percent, the poll showed.

Abbas has said he plans to call a general election in January 2010 at the end of the mandate of the current Hamas-dominated legislature.

Read the full report here.

Are the Iraqi Forces Ready?

On the Sunday talk show circuit, U.S. Commander in Iraq Gen. Ray Odierno said that Iraq's military and police units were ready to operate independently of the U.S. military.

The media blitz came ahead of Tuesday's deadline for the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraqi cities and towns. Troops will remain in bases throughout the country, available to help Iraqi forces as needed.

Odierno insists that the Iraqis are ready for the challenge, but a New York Times article today highlights some of the ambiguities.

Just four days after the Americans closed their outpost, under government pressure, in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, a bomb killed at least 76 people and wounded more than 150 in a market there on Wednesday. On Thursday, at least seven bombs exploded around the country in what appeared to be a concerted campaign by militants.

And some Iraq officials aren't too sure themselves:

Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Muhsen, a commander with the First Division of the Iraqi National Police, has said that sectarian violence could return after the Americans leave. He also warned that Iraq’s borders were still porous, allowing more foreign fighters to enter.

Meanwhile, Qassim Daoud, an independent Shiite legislator and a former national security adviser, said Status of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the United States should be extended to 2020 or 2025. The agreement, which the Iraqi Parliament ratified in November, calls for American troops to pull out of most Iraqi cities by this summer and sets the end of 2011 as the date by which all American troops must leave the country.

But the statement that made me the most suspicious?

“We agreed to abide by Iraqi sovereignty,” General Odierno said on CNN. “So everything that we do today is transparent.”

Sunday Talk Shows: 6/28

On tap this week:

NBC's Meet the Press with David Gregory: Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham. Roundtable with David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Mike Murphy and Dee Dee Myers. CBS' Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: UN Ambassador Susan Rice and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Fox News Sunday: Topics: Health care, with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Iraq, with Gen. Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq.

CNN's State of the Union with John King: Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq and Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)on Iraq, Iran and war on terrorism. Mary Matalin and James Carville on health care debate and Obama's response to Iran and T. Boone Pickens, chairman and CEO, BP Capital on energy.

Catch the full line-up at FishbowlDC.