Necessary News

All you need to know to sound brilliant

Afghanistan: A Country On The Brink Of Breakdown

• We’re about to pay a huge price for cutting out of Afghanistan early to wage a war in Iraq: Afghanistan is falling apart. [NY Times]
• A disturbing new assessment from the CIA shows President Hamid Karzai is losing the support of his people in Afghanistan.
• He already has little support outside of the capital city of Kabul; the Taliban and various warlords have taken control of much of the countryside.
• The problem: The CIA report “found that increasing numbers of Afghans viewed Mr. Karzai’s government as corrupt, failing to deliver promised reconstruction and too weak to protect the country from rising Taliban attacks.” Not. Good.
• In a recent interview, the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Ronald E. Neumann, said keeping Afghanistan from reverting into chaos would take “multiple years” and “multiple billions.”
• Neumann: “We’re going to have to stay at it. Or we’re going to fail and the country will fall apart again.”
• The NATO commander in Afghanistan, British Gen. David Richards, had something similar to say recently. Last week, he said that unless life improves dramatically for the people of Afghanistan in the next six months, they will probably switch their alliances to the resurging Taliban. He also said he does not have the troops to defeat the Taliban in the next six months. [Hamilton Spectator]

Okay, Team, we’ve got one chance to do this right. Focus! Focus!

Bush Doesn’t Want Detainees To Tell You They Were Tortured

• The sketchiness continues: the Bush administration has told a federal judge that terror detainees who were held in secret CIA prisons “hould not be allowed to reveal details of the “alternative interrogation methods” that their captors used to get them to talk.” [Washington Post]
• In fact, the government wants to stop the detainees from revealing torture techniques even to their own attorneys.
• See? We told you it was going to be bad: the administration is using the Military Commissions Act, passed just last month, to justify their arguments. The act strips detainees of access to U.S. courts.
• What are government officials worried the prisoners are going to say? Try this: one released detainee claims “he was held...in a dingy CIA prison called “the salt pit” in Afghanistan. There, prisoners slept on the floor, wore diapers and were given tainted water that made them vomit.”
• Joseph Margulies, a Northwestern University law professor who has represented several detainees at Guantanamo, said the prisoners “can’t even say what our government did to these guys to elicit the statements that are the basis for them being held. Kafka-esque doesn’t do it justice. This is ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ “

Silly you. You thought it couldn’t get any worse.

Hussein To Hang

• Brutal dictator Saddam Hussein received a death sentence for his crimes against the Iraqi people, specifically the torture and execution of more than 100 people 24 years ago. [Washington Post]
• He will hang.
• The five-member panel has heard more than 9 months of testimony in the case.
• They also sentenced two of Saddam’s cohorts to the same fate: Head of Iraq’s intel agency(and Saddam’s half brother) Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti; and Awad al-Bandar, president of Mr. Hussein’s revolutionary court.
• When he heard the verdict, Hussein began shouting: “Long live the people! Down with the stooges! Down with the invaders! God is great!”
• The verdict/sentence now goes to a 9-man appellate court for review. This court can call for additional testimony and revisit the evidence. This could take up to a year.
• Once that court makes up its mind, they have 30 days to carry out the sentence.
• News reports say “celebratory gunfire rang out over Baghdad.” In Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown, the other kind of gunfire rang out, but no casualties have been reported.

So if this is what we went to war for, does this mean we can be finished now?

We Knew About Iraq War Dangers In 1999

• In 1999, the United States conducted a series of sophisticated war games to assess the dangers of taking over Iraq. [CNN]
• It turns out these games predicted almost every single one of the problems we’ve faced as that country has spiraled closer to chaos.
• Finding from 1999: We’d need at least 400,000 troops.
• Finding from 1999: “A change in regimes does not guarantee stability. A number of factors including aggressive neighbors, fragmentation along religious and/or ethnic lines, and chaos created by rival forces bidding for power could adversely affect regional stability.”
• Finding from 1999: “Even when civil order is restored and borders are secured, the replacement regime could be problematic — especially if perceived as weak, a puppet, or out-of-step with prevailing regional governments.”
• Finding from 1999: “Iran’s anti-Americanism could be enflamed by a U.S.-led intervention in Iraq.”
• We only know about this now due to a Freedom of Information Act request.

War Games: Not just for Matthew Broderick anymore. ("Would you like to play a game?")

Your Weekend Scandal Update: The Ney Edition

• Just in time for elections! On Friday, Bob Ney (R-OH) resigned his House seat. In case you forgot: three weeks ago, Ney pleaded guilty to felony charges for his dealings in Abramoff-gate. [USA Today]
• Ney was the first member of Congress to plead guilty in the Abramoff scandal. The charges included two felony counts of trading legislative favors for vacations, meals, drinks, concert tickets, campaign contributions and poker chips, and then lying about his actions.
• So his office sits around collecting dust? Not exactly. Under congressional rule, the office is taken over by the House clerk. Staff members keep their jobs until a replacement is elected and all constituent work continues.
• Ney is the fourth (fourth!) senior Republican to resign admist scandal during the 109th Congress.

Try to list all the Republicans under investigation in one breath. We dare you.

Good News, Bad News

Sure, banning trans fats has become about as trendy as adopting a baby from Malawi. But where’s the fun in that? Our British friends across the pond have invented a new, more exciting way to work off that bangers and mash: video games. A new machine has been invented that actually encourages kids to work out while they’re playing computer games. Let’s look at the pros and cons. [BBC]

GOOD NEWS

Not only is little Suzy as svelt as a Dior model during Fashion Week, she’s also got mad skills when it comes to Warcraft.

BAD NEWS

Potential video games featuring infomercial queen Suzanne Sommers. That’s just scary.

Quote Of The Day

“The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. There’s a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring with it all of my adult life.”

— Right-wing evangelical leader Ted Haggard’s Jim Baker moment. Huffington Post has the video. [HuffPost]

Speed Round

RUMSFELD MUST GO

New editorial in top military publications (Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines) calls for Rumsfeld to go. Sample Quote: “Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised.” [San Francisco Chronicle] [Army Times], [Air Force Times], [Navy Times]and[Marine Corps Times]

HAGGARD HYPOCRASY

Meth-smoking, gay prostitute visiting evangelical leader resigns. [AP]

HAPPY ELECTION

Because who doesn’t like an interactive map. Put it up on your big screen TV, impress your friends Russert-style. [WashPo Interactive Election Map]

GET OUT OF JAIL FREE

Contractors in Iraq may lie, cheat, steal, botch and run away but there’s one thing they’ll never do: be held responsible. [Washington Post]

GIRL POWER

Katharine Jefferts Schori is the first woman to become the top bishop of the Episcopal Church. Girl power! [NY Times]

ARCTIC PASSAGE

As the polar ice caps melt, giant shipping companies want to sail through them. This is not a story which ends well. [Washington Post]

MORE FIRES

9 people die in arson fire in Reno, Nevada. [AP]

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Hold your breath: Supreme Court decides to hear abortion test cases. [Reuters]

GAS PRICES

Gas prices drop. Election? What election? [Bloomberg]