Late Night News…
by Pamela LeaveyCatching up with news from earlier today…
The House okayed the Iraq troop withdrawal bill on Wednesday, brushing aside Bush’s veto threat.
The 218-208 vote came as the top U.S. commander in Iraq told lawmakers the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
Passage puts the bill on track to clear Congress by week’s end and arrive on the president’s desk in coming days as the first binding congressional challenge to Bush’s handling of the conflict now in its fifth year.
“Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Condi got hit with a subpoena on Wednesday, as House “congressional committees Wednesday ramped up their investigations of the Bush administration by approving a subpoena for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and granting immunity to a key aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.”
By 21-10, the House oversight committee voted to issue a subpoena to Rice to compel her story on the Bush administration’s claim, now discredited, that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa.
Moments earlier in the committee chamber next door, the House Judiciary Committee voted 32-6 to grant immunity to Monica Goodling, Gonzales’ White House liaison, for her testimony on why the administration fired eight federal prosecutors. The panel also unanimously approved — but did not issue — a subpoena to compel her to appear.
And… another un-named Bush aide is singing… “Aide Casts Doubt on Bush’s Iraq Scenario”
One senior administration official with extensive knowledge of the region, who didn’t want to be identified discussing sensitive policy matters, tells NEWSWEEK that the chances of a regional war in Iraq are low in the event of a U.S. withdrawal. When asked if a regional war would break out, the official said: “Possibly, not probably. It’s more likely that other powers would support their favorite militias, as they’re doing already.”
Army: Shortcomings exist beyond Walter Reed:
The Army said Wednesday it was hiring case managers and boosting oversight at military facilities after a new internal review concluded poor outpatient care extended beyond Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Gen. Richard Cody, the Army’s vice chief of staff, said officials were finalizing a report on problems after a team of Army inspectors visited 11 bases in seven states last month to study outpatient treatment, building conditions and the information provided to patients.
The investigation found staffing shortages, excessive paperwork and poor training that created too much bureaucracy and long waits for injured soldiers, particularly at Fort Stewart in Georgia and Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas.
The deck against BushCo is becoming increasingly stacked… Stay tuned.
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There are a lot of signs of bipartisanship right now, and it’s got me confused. I guess the confusion comes from the fact that the easiest way to find evidence of bipartisanship is to read between the lines.
First and foremost, I suppose, is the fact that the Iraq bill is even going to come to a vote in the Senate. I’m not expecting it to get 60 votes, and, if it doesn’t, why isn’t there going to be a filibuster? It looks like there are some folks in Congress who are willing to skewer Bush even if they don’t necessarily want their fingerprints on the weapon.
Likewise for most of the votes yesterday on Subpoenas for various people in the administration. That stuff is also not breaking strictly down party lines. In fact on several of the votes reported there were numerous Republican defections.
And then there was that letter to A.G. Gonzalez telling him to get his head screwed back on straight and cough up all of the info that he was not able to remember. Again, that came from both sides of the aisle.
I don’t know if this is people just distancing themselves from Bush as a matter of positioning for 2008 or something deeper. If there are deals that have been cut we do have a right to know but I’m not holding my breath.
On the other hand, Bush/Cheney have done a lot of damage to their Party and you would expect that to show up somehow. We may well witness some real vicious infighting on the Republican side as this thing starts to heat up.
I can’t wait.
Let the deck get stack even more. It’s past time for the whole lot to go! In the best interest of this country, we have to get them out as soon as possible!