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Monday, 07 April 2008 |
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Tomorrow and Wednesday General Petraeus will be testifying before both the house and senate's armed services and foreign affairs committees.
In lieu of his testimony Mother Jones has asked a group of national security experts what they thought Congress should ask of the General.
Here is a random selection of their questions: "How many Iraqi army divisions are capable of conducting unilateral operations?" "What role do you see for both private military and security contractors in Iraq in the future?" "Given that groups headed by people such as Abdul Aziz al-Hakim [leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq] are very closely tied to Iran and considered allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, what is the evidence that Iran is trying to destabilize a government filled by people who are sympathetic to Tehran?" "What is your candid assessment of the chances that the Maliki-led regime can survive without Sadr's backing and having failed to convince both the U.S. and Iran that it has the capability to govern?" "Why do you and the administration continue to plan policy as if we have any leverage in Iraq? Don't American forces have precious little to do with the "frozen" character of the conflict? Sunni peace is dependent on the sheikhs, not us; Shiite peace is in question because of the decisions of militia we have little influence over; and Baghdad has already purged its mixed neighborhoods, which has solidified the barriers between hostile neighbors. A dysfunctional government we prop up has virtually no impact on the country's security or economy outside Baghdad, and 70 percent of the people want us to leave. It seems the U.S. is completely unable to influence the fundamentals of the situation. So why should anyone assume that more or fewer U.S. troops are the key factor in Iraq's future?" "In Rick Atkinson's account of the invasion of Iraq, In the Company of Soldiers, you are depicted as constantly asking Atkinson, "Tell me how this ends." After five years of war, do you have any better idea of how this all ends?"
We will all have to tune in tomorrow starting at 9:30am to see just how tough the questions will be. If the General's last appearance before the Congress is any indicator of what we will witness tomorrow then he need not worry. The Nation has a link to both Senator Clinton's questioning of General Petraeus as well as Senator Obama's questioning of the General from last year. |
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Saturday, 05 April 2008 |
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The joint resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq did so on the basis of two clauses. First the president was given the authority to "defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq." Secondly, the president was authorized to "enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq." In Saturday's Washington Post Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway explain how the continued intervention in Iraq can no longer be authorized based on the first clause as
"It makes no sense to say that it [the threat posed by Iraq] continues today, or that our "national security" is "threatened by" the Iraqi government headed by Nouri al-Maliki."
As for the second clause, enforcing UN resolutions on Iraq:
"The most recent U.N. resolution expires on Dec. 31, and the administration has announced that it will not seek one for 2009. Instead, it is now negotiating a bilateral agreement with the Iraqi government to replace the U.N. mandate.
Whatever this agreement contains, it will not fill the legal vacuum. That's because the administration is not planning to submit this new agreement to Congress for its explicit approval. Since the Constitution gives the power to "declare war" to Congress, the president can't ignore the conditions imposed on him in 2002 without returning for a new grant of authority. He cannot substitute the consent of the Iraqi government for the consent of the U.S. Congress."
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Friday, 04 April 2008 |
A new report by the Institute for Policy Studies examines racial inequality over the last 40 years. The report entitled "40 Years Later: The Unrealized American Dream" points to some educational advances:
"Since Dr. King’s death, the African American high school graduation rate has increased by over 214%."
"The African American college graduation rate has increased by almost 400% since 1968."
Despite such advances, African-Americans will only attain equality with white Americans by 2018 when it comes to high school graduation rates and 2087 for college graduation rates.
As for economic equality
"It will take more than 537 more years for Blacks to reach income equality with whites if the income gap continues to close at the same rate it has since Dr. King was assassinated"
"If the racial wealth divide continues to close as slowly as it has since 1983, it will take 634 years for Blacks to reach wealth equality with whites."
The report in its entirety can be found here. .
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