Matthew Yglesias on Mitt Romney’s trawler-sized net of Islamic bad guys:
To put it bluntly, the trouble here is that the Muslim Brotherhood just isn’t a violent terrorist organization, and certainly doesn’t commit acts of violence against the United States. It’s an extremely traditionalist multinational civil society organization. It’s true that a lot of violent types […]

In case you had any lingering doubts that Senator John McCain is one of the Bush administration’s favorite war hawks, Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that he and McCain stand shoulder to shoulder on Iran.
US Vice-President Dick Cheney has raised the possibility of military action to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
He has endorsed Republican […]

Senators Dodd and Kerry are currently traveling the Middle East, talking to leaders of Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Palestine in an effort to further peace in the region. Dodd’s goal is a frank and honest dialogue with Syria so we can move forward to find areas of agreement and build a working relationship to improve […]

As sufi noted, the White House has launched an offensive against Senator Dodd and his trip to the Middle East this week. Senator Dodd has pushed back hard, particularly on the allegations by White House spokesmodel Tony Snow that the trip is somehow “inappropriate.”
One controversy surrounding this trip was sparked by The Hartford Courant’s diction. […]

Chris Dodd is headed to the Middle East with John Kerry to hold talks with leaders in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan. Bush’s State Department had previously blocked this trip, but now, though advising against it, is not stopping it.
Analysts saw the senators’ visit as the start of a possible U.S. thaw toward […]

The New York Times editorial page has responded to the brutish fear mongering of Peter Hoekstra and the GOP by offering up a resounding rebuke to the congressman’s urine puddle of an intelligence report on Iran.
If the Republicans who control Congress really wanted a full-scale assessment on the state of Iran’s weapons programs, they would […]

Shorter Bush…
On the UN resolution on Lebanon: “Yeah, what Condi said.”
On the international force for Lebanon: “NOT IT!”
On aid to Lebanon: “We let them hit you because we love you. Here’s some flowers, be sure to greet the international force with them in the streets.”
On excessive civilian deaths in Iraq: “We have a plan.”
On […]

It is now apparent that the US’s policy towards violence in the Middle East has been created on a boardgame version of the world and is played out by the administration on a Big Board of the situation room. The Bush administration believes that for a sustainable peace to exist between Israel and its neighbors, […]

I wrote this on Saturday on my way to Vegas. My hotel had no access (wtf?).

Maureen Dowd had a nice line this morning, saying that the administration continues to confuse simplicity for clarity. How is it that Bush and his suddenly active State Department are so confident in their appraisal of the Middle East, […]

Secretary Rice is heading to Israel on Sunday. She says her goal is to effect real, fundamental change in the region, not just return it to the status quo (which for the US would mean ignoring it again?). She may be going for diplomacy but she’s also being sent like a stripper in […]