Has the makings of a pretty good morning.
Sec.Def. Gates might be interesting today, as Hillary Clinton & MSM thus far led us to believe that Sec.Def. Gates was apologetic to Hillary Clinton for his deputy's letter to her.
Here 's Gates' letter to Hillary Clinton and decide for yourself:
I agree with you that the planning concerning the future of U.S. forces in Iraq – including the draw down of those forces at the right time – is not only appropriate, but essential. Under Secretary Edelman, along with the Department of Defense’s senior civilian and military leadership, shares my views on these matters.
Specifically, I emphatically assure you we do not claim, suggest, or otherwise believe that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies, nor do we question anyone’s motives in this regard. My statements to this effect have been frequent and unambiguous. That said,we all recognize that there are multiple audiences for what we say, and need to be careful not to undermine the morale of our troops or encourage our enemies – the point I think Ambassador Edelman was trying to make in his letter.
With respect to your specific request, the Department’s policy is to share appropriate information regarding policies, posture, and administrative plans with appropriate Congressional oversight committees. But as Under Secretary Edelman and officials from many previous Administrations have stated, it is also the Department’s long-standing practice and policy spanning decades and multiple administrations that operational policy plans, including contingency plans, are not routinely shared with Congress (or with other departments of the Executive Branch).
There are a number of time-proven reasons for this policy, including considerations of operational security, the fact that plans are continuously modified as required by changing security conditions, and the need to protect the operational commander's ability to implement the plan as flexibly as the situation warrants...
Finally, I want to close by expressing my continued strong support for Ambassador Edelman. Dr. Edelman is a valued member of the Department of Defense team and his wise counsel and years of experience are critically important to the many pressing policy issues facing the military and our nation. Eric Edelman is a career foreign service officer who received his first senior Presidential appointment in 1998 as United States Ambassador to Finland. He has served our nation with distinction through multiple administrations and I rely on his able assistance in addressing the many challenges facing the Department in the months ahead.
I’ve cleaned up my cable digital recorder to make tons of room.
I hope Steffie in the Republican Debate asks the hard questions, like the Youtubers did, so we can get answers:
Who was your favorite teacher?
What was your favorite subject in high school?
At what age did you go on your first date?
What is your favorite book?
What is your favorite movie?
Who is your favorite actor?
Who is your favorite actress?
What is your favorite color?
Boxers or briefs?
Republican Presidential Candidate Debate #4 – Des Moines, IA 08/05/07 - Official Discussion Thread
Posted at 12:22pm on Aug. 5, 2007
The Sunday Morning Talk Shows - The Review
By Mark Kilmer
Sunday, August 5, 2007
On NBC's Meet the Press, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates repeated that we will reassess our strategy in Iraq after General Petraeus reports in September. He said there is a "possibility" that we could begin to draw down our troop levels in Iraq by the end of the year.
On FNS, Secetary of State Condoleezza Rice asked that we not "dismiss the efforts" of the Iraq government, even if there has been no final resolution on the big issues.
Next on FNS, Michael O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack of the lefty outfit Brookings Institution explained that they had been to Iraq, done some serious study, and determined that the surge was working militarily. O'Hanlon suggest the possibility of having the Iraqis reschedule their planned 2009 elections to replace the Maliki government sooner.
On TW, host George Stephanopoulos hosted a GOP Iowa debate. This was the real thing: 90 minutes, a hall, podiums, the whole bit. The responses from the candidates were like the last ones and the ones before that, and Fred Thompson wasn't there. Everyone else, including Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul, was there.
First up on FTN, Secretary Rice said that though the Iraqi parliament is going on vacation, they were asked to be ready to vote on important legislation. The leaders of the Iraqi parliament are working on just such legislation. She did not, however, promise that anything would happen.
Next up on FTN, DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel, a former Clinton (Bill) staffer, boasted that his boss had solved all the problems in the middle east and that this President had squandered six years and now was forced to "buy" good will from the middle eastern countries with arms sales.
On CNN's Late Edition, Wolf Blitzer asked Secretary Gates when we would start to draw down troops in Iraq. (It is unclear but important whether this taped interview took place before or after he told Tim Russert that a beginning of a drawdown before the end of the year was "possible.") They are, he said on LE, developing plans for the various contingencies which may be contained in the report.
Next on LE, Carl Levin said that the surge had failed, there was no chance of political progress before the report in September. He later added that any of the Democrat candidates was more prepared to be President than any of the Republicans.
Read the show-by-show review beneath the fold… Posted in Special Features - Read More »
Follow the Read More link for the entire thing.
I turned the sound up this morning and listened to Timmy and the Meet The Perps participants,, Gates was OK, Timmy predictable in his questioning..
The round panel or whatever they call that liberal love fest having folks like Bernstein and Kearns and such on was a bit much, a typical spew-a-rama for Hillary and Obama,, I had to change the channel, it was too much. click