** GATES IN KABUL. New Defense Secretary Bob Gates journeyed to Afghanistan, where the Taliban are making a comeback, to tour the country, meet with troops, and assess the situation. Here are some of his comments, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense: Well, first of all, sorry we didn’t get to go into Kandahar, but the weather rules all, I guess. I really feel like I had a great visit to Afghanistan. I’m so impressed with all that’s been accomplished here, all the positive things that are happening in the country; very impressed with President Karzai. …
I was really struck by the role of our NATO partners here in Afghanistan, along with the other 11 partners. I think it’s a real testimony to the efforts of the Afghan government and what President Karzai and his team have accomplished that you have three dozen nations, including more than two dozen European countries, invested in the success of this regime, of this government here in Kabul. And I think that’s real testimony to what they — as I say, to what they’ve accomplished. And we appreciate all of their contributions.
I also obviously want to thank our men and women in uniform who are here, going up to FOB Tillman (Forward Operating Base Tillman, named after the late NFL star-turned-Ranger Pat Tillman) yesterday, meeting some of those troops. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet some of the troops in Kandahar. …
I’ve also been very impressed with the partnership that seems to have developed between our combat soldiers and those of the Afghan National Army. I think there’s real progress being made with respect to the army here in Afghanistan and the respect that our junior officers — the captain who showed me around yesterday has for his Afghan counterparts and the willingness of the Afghans to fight for their own freedom was really significant to me.
So, all in all, I felt it was a great visit. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on here. It’s clear that the Afghan government, the United States, NATO, our partners in Pakistan, have work to do along the border. ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and the commander let me know their views of what they think the requirements are in terms of forces. And we’ll be pursuing that as we go forward.
** OIL DROPS BELOW $50 PER BARREL, SETTLES SLIGHTLY HIGHER. The price of crude oil dropped below $50 per barrel today in trading before settling slightly above $50. This comes after a large build-up of inventory with weeks of milder than normal weather through much of the U.S., notwithstanding the recent cold snap and spate of freakish weather, which includes snow falling on the Las Vegas Strip and in Malibu.
** HOUSE INTEL CHAIRMAN FLIPS ON SURGE. Remember new House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, the Texas Democrat who thought that Al Qaeda was Shiite rather than Sunni and really didn’t know the makeup of Hezbollah? He was, surprisingly, for an increase of “20,000 to 30,000 troops” in Iraq to go after the sectarian militias. That was a surprise, given that Speaker Nancy Pelosi ostensibly selected Reyes over LA Congresswoman Jane Harman because Harman had supposedly been too hawkish on Iraq. Well, now that President George W. Bush is doing what Reyes said he thought should be done, Reyes is against it. I guess he didn’t know what he knew.
** KHAMENEI SOURING ON AHMADINEJAD? Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to be behind an unprecedented public trashing of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 150 members of the Iranian Parliament have signed a public letter sharply rebuking America’s favorite new lunatic for his tenure in office, including his brand-new trip to Venezuela to hang with Commandante Hugo Chavez, as well as his economic policies and his extraordinarily provocative statements about Iran’s nuclear program. Ahmadinejad’s hardline faction did poorly in recent Iranian elections.
** Monitor computer memory prices on a daily basis. Prices are mostly stable.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Crude oil prices are up around $52 per barrel.
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| Comments (41) |
I’ll bet Pelosi could do over that appointment. lol
The ayatollah remains undead.
Silvestre Reyes is the gift that keeps on giving.
That guy is dumb enought to be a California legislator.
He doesn’t know any more than they do, that is for sure.
I’m afraid that quite a few members of the California Legislature have a better grounding on Shia/Sunni.
Not quite calling the Governor a “liar”, here is McClintock’s quote from today’s Wall Street Journal.
“He is now pushing the second largest tax increase in California history. I won’t be able to trust anything he says.”
While I have never supported McClintock, I just want folks to see in January the problems that will stall the budget in June. It will be a fundamental disagreement about raising taxes, aggravated by contempt from Republicans who resent being lied to and purposefully excluded from participating in the “bipartisan” policy process. The tax?/fee? for healthcare issue is just the latest example.
What did Reyes know and when did he know it?
That’s all well and good for Tom McClintock to be the hero for conservatives again, but his vote probably is not needed to pass a health care plan.
If he wants to be an obstructionist on unrelated issues, my observation is that that sort of thing seldom ends up going well.
This poor fellow Reyes.
mr. Bradley this same news service (YaLibnan) is reporting :
“Iran’s loyalty to Lebanon’s Hezbollah questionable
Thursday, 18 January, 2007 @ 5:16 AM
Beirut- Iran offered to cut off aid and support for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, and promised full transparency on its nuclear program in a secret letter to the United States soon after the
2003 invasion of Iraq, BBC reported.
According to the BBC, the letter, which it obtained, was unsigned, but the US State Department understood that it came with the approval of the highest Iranian authorities.
The Islamic republic also offered to use its influence to support stabilization in Iraq, and in return asked for a halt in hostile American behavior, an abolition of all sanctions, and the pursuit and repatriation of members of the Mujahedeen Khalq (People’s Mujahedeen MKO)”
The above information dovetails with Flynt Leverett’s claims…he asserts left the White House due to the fact that there were certain people in policy positions hell-bent on the need to take on Iran (and Syria) as early as 2003
I’d heard that, but I want to report hard intelligence here, what is verifiable.
No living dead ayatollahs on NWN.
Well here you go a true test for Reyes …he needs to pull Leverett Abrams and company into a hearing room and find out if this letter/memo exists!…
Uh-oh , something must have frozen over…my husband agrees with Kandy…
Seriously, I think there is something to this, BBC is reporting it with more details:
Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion.
Offers, including making its nuclear programme more transparent, were conditional on the US ending hostility.
But Vice-President Dick Cheney’s office rejected the plan, the official said.
The offers came in a letter, seen by Newsnight, which was unsigned but which the US state department apparently believed to have been approved by the highest authorities.” BBC
I want an investigation this minute started! Come on Biden and my wonderful tough huncky Hagel!
Sil Reyes and his stupidity (not to mention really f*(&()*&*()ing horrible staff)is just more ammo for the Reeps to show how f9*&()*&)*(ing ridiculously weak Dems are on issues like National Security.
Well done…
Re: Reyes
My partner constantly reminds me I don’t know what I know, why should it be different for a member of Congress.
(Huh? What’s that, dear?)
Right, right, I forgot. The things I don’t know I know won’t get anyone killed!
Well, you know what they say, it’s a woman’s perrogative to… (What now, dear? Oh, he’s a he, not a she? I forgot. Rememebr who you’re talking to?) Never mind.
Lawrence Wilkerson is on record confirming that there was the memo …
Carole, the weather’s about to warm up again.
After snow in Vegas and Malibu!
Barbara, I don’t disbelieve it, I just don’t know it.
You’re right, CADTS.
No matter how unpopular the Iraq policy is, if people don’t believe the Democrats know what they are talking about on national security, the Republicans can still win the White House.
Well hopefully we will all know soon enough!
“Todd M. Hinnen, a director for combating terrorism on the staff of the president’s National Security Council (NSC), will become the chief counsel for Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
Bill,
Warm Weather? Good time to book a room in Vegas or watch the ski races this weekend.
WarmER weather.
You say Shia and I say Shiite
You say Khamenei and I say Khomeini
Shia, Shiite, Khamenei, Khomeini
Let’s call the whole thing off!
And here we had Harman, this morning, showing some backbone against one of Bush’s worse incursions into our Constitutional rights:
I hope Pelosi will be able to mend fences, get her onboard as a player on some key issues to make her more palatable to the progressive base (there’s still time in the Hundred Hours!), and look at rotating her back into leadership next term.
It is quite an “Oil ” News DAY!!!
Msnbc is reporting: “The House passed a bill Thursday evening to raise nearly $15 billion in taxes through a combination of higher royalties, added fees and a reversal of tax breaks handed out by the Bush administration and Republican Congress.”
I think it is also interesting that Gazprom (Russia’s state run gas giant) is embarking on a multimillion dollar publicity campaign in Europe and the United States to explain why the world should not see its expansion plans and hiked prices as a Kremlin power grab. They have signed or will sign an $11 million deal with several public relations firms including Hill & Knowlton…
Flynt Leverett who is with the New Amer Foundation but was a CIA Analyst asserts that mishandling energy security issues could be our undoing as the dominant military and economic power in the world…he contends that we need to deal politically with the “Axis of Oil” (a play of course on the President’s “Axis of Evil”) which includes dealing with many heads of states this admin says it is not willing to deal with…
“Living Dead Ayatollahs” sounds like a great name for a punk-metal band….
does Reyes know what an Ayatollah is?
Unknown.
Well Ledeen is writing again today that KHAMENEI is”either dead or presumed dead or soon to be dead or “as good as dead.”…Good Dr. Disinformation! you certainly know how to cover all your your bases!!!!!
It is true that everyone on the planet is either alive or dead.
On Gates…
This is an insult to our intelligence.He was “struck by the role of NATO”
HOW ABOUT BEING STRUCK MY THE LACK OF ROLE OF NATO!!! After an urgent call by Nato’s top commander last Sept, to the NATO alliance (26 member countries) to send 2,500 more soldiers to deal with Taliban resistance …ONLY Poland has agreed too send battalion approx 1000 troops. Oh yeah, Bularia Romania and Macedonia are sending in each about 100!…
Oh, you expect him to attack NATO? At least they are participating, and MAY PARTICIPATE MORE.
The secretary of defense doesn’t have the luxury of a columnist or a blogger.
You know you have to parse these statements.
The key part is at the end. Hence it’s bolding.
Barbara
{This is an insult to our intelligence.He was “struck by the role of NATO”
HOW ABOUT BEING STRUCK MY THE LACK OF ROLE OF NATO!!!}
How about the lack of finishing the job before starting another? You know, like not starting a war in Iraq before you kill all the bad guys in Afghanistan… Then you have to take troops from the war in Afghanistan to beef up the troop size in Iraq BUT the generals are and have been in need of more troops in Afghanistan. Where are they coming from?
Was this a wise idea? I think not. Stupid is as stupid does…
Gates just arrived, as you know. You’re talking apples and oranges.
They have been asking for more troops there…c’mon give me a break.
Yes. And?
They have been asking for more troops there…c’mon give me a break.
Am I talking to an Eliza program?
No, I do not expect him to attack NATO and NATO SHOULD BE MORE RESPONSIVE AS THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF WHAT IS AT STAKE HERE…The latest report I read asserted that we along with the British will be sending more because of the poor response from the other countries… Gates is one hell of an improvement over Rummy…that is for sure. Further, if Bush had come to Congress and the American people and asked for more troops in Afghanistan there probably would have been little to no real resistance…Sadly, that’s not what happened…I wish Sec Gates well because I love our military…but unfortunately he is there to carry out Bush- Cheney policy ….not make it…he has shown in every job he has had that he very effective at implementing his various bosses policies…now that is not meant as a negative…unless you have a problem with who his boss is…
Watch as the Iraq Study Group recommendations slowly come online.