During Thursday's hearings of the Armed Services Committee, several Republican Senators blamed the usual suspects for the shortfalls in Army and Marine recruiting. James Inhofe (R-OK) lambasted unnamed Senate colleagues, adding the potential recruits are being discouraged "because of all the negative media that's out there." Kansan Pat Roberts chimed in, "with the deluge of […]

President Bush delivered his much awaited speech on Iraq to an audience of soldiers assembled at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As theater, the President's was a confident rhetorical performance. But if the intent was to rebuild American support for the Iraq war by showing accountability for the missteps to date, providing a plan for success […]

Yesterday, I offered a lengthy preview of tonight's nationally televised address on Iraq by President Bush. In the Perrspectives Guide to the Bush Address, I highlighted the Five Things Bush Must Do to rebuild public support for the conflict in Iraq. In that Guide, I also pointed out the rhetorical warning signs that Bush's rhetoric […]

Ronald Reagan once famously said that presidents should "never say never" But when it comes to the reinstatement of the military draft, recent public opinion polls seem to suggest that the American people think "never" would be a fine idea, indeed. A recent AP/Ipsos poll showed only 27% of Americans favored conscription, with a whopping […]

On the heels of Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the U.S. and the growing furor over the Downing Street Memo, a new British document promises to further highlight the Bush administration's deception and incompetence in preparing for the Iraq war. The Washington Post reports that just two days before the Downing Street meeting, a […]

Memorial Day in the United States arrives this year at a sobering time. As the violence and disorder conitnues in Iraq, American servicemen and women stand in harm's way there, in Afghanistan and around the world. Our troops and their families deserve our thanks and need our support. This is the first modern American conflict […]

AP has reported that the Senate 12 have brokered an 11th hour deal to avert a showdown over the nuclear option. The deal announced by Senator John McCain preserves the Democrats right to filibuster, but gives Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor a vote on the Senate floor. If the early blogosphere feedback […]

The ongoing Newsweek saga has given the Bush White House and its right wing jihadists what they see as a golden opportunity. Their simple goal is to use the Newsweek case and the Rathergate episode before it to wage a full scale assault on the credibility and objectivity of "mainstream press." In its place, they […]

President Bush's powerful May 7 speech in Riga marking the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany has created a firestrom across the political spectrum. Conservatives, of course, loved the speech, appreciating any diminution of the Soviet role in the war, but especially the none-too-subtle assault on FDR. Liberals predictably (and I would argue, […]

As expected, the President's commission on pre-war intelligence regarding Iraqi's weapons of mass destruction offers a scathing critique of the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. (The full report and other commission background can be found here; other Iraq/WMD documents are also available in the Perrspectives Document Library.) Also as expected, the report essentially absolved […]