These bombings in Baghdad follow a major such attack in Damascus, Syria, which was probably carried out by radical revivalist Sunnis (“Salafis”) to punish the Syrian regime for cracking down on their movements, both into Iraq and between Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian regime, as Borzou Daragahi points out, is also a strong backer of […]
Obama Won: Gallup/USA Today Poll; 52% Say Obama best to Fix Problems, vs. 35% for McCain
In addition to those two snap polls done just after the debate on Friday by CNN and by CBS, there is now further evidence that Obama won the first debate handily. A Gallup/ USA Today poll of 701 viewers of the debate done on Saturday found that 46% of viewers said Barack Obama did better; […]
Saudi Oil Moguls fear Hybrid Cars
Saudi Arabia wants lower petroleum prices. As a country with enormous reserves, Riyadh would like to preserve their value. In contrast, countries like Algeria with relatively shallow reserves want to get top dollar for their petroleum while it lasts. Businessweek provides the telling quote: ‘ Any threat to oil’s leading role as a source of […]
Iraqi Hopes for US Troop Withdrawal
One of the things that struck me about Friday night’s debate on the time line for troop withdrawal was that McCain appeared to believe that how long US troops remain in Iraq and at what strength is a unilateral matter dictated by Washington. The government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki is already trying to negotiate […]
Palin Says She did Not Have Money to Travel in Youth; But She went to College in Hawaii!
On seeing this part of the Couric interview of Palin, I suddenly remembered something about her: ‘ Couric: In preparing for this conversation, a lot of our viewers … and Internet users wanted to know why you did not get a passport until last year. And they wondered if that indicated a lack of interest […]
Debate Fact Check 5
About that claim by McCain that he warned about the mortgage crisis: McCain: “But — but let me — let me point out, I also warned about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and warned about corporate greed and excess, and CEO pay, and all that. A lot of us saw this train wreck coming.” In […]
Debate Fact Check 3
Did Henry Kissinger advise direct talks with Iran at the highest levels? Yes. Kissinger gave an interview with Bloomberg Television News Service on March 14, 2008: ‘ “One should be prepared to negotiate, and I think we should be prepared to negotiate about Iran,” Kissinger . . . said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. […]
Debate fact-check 2: The Surge
In the debate, McCain promised ‘victory’ in Iraq and praised the surge. First of all, it isn’t ‘victory’ if Baghdad’s best hospital doesn’t even have working elevators any more. Second of all, the violence fell in Baghdad because the Sunnis were massacred or chased to Syria, leaving few mixed neighborhoods, not because of ‘take, clear, […]
Fact-Checking 1
Fact-checking the debate (transcript available here). For Pakistan and the controversy over McCain’s ridiculous assertion that Pakistan was a ‘failed state’ in 1999 when Musharraf made his coup, see my “McCain’s Holiday from History” from last February (the terms of the debate between McCain and Obama on these issues, interestingly hasn’t changed). But one thing […]
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