Posted on 09/16/2006 3:51:28 PM PDT by Wolfstar
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: The President and First Lady are spending a quiet weekend prior to what will be another very busy week for them. The President will address the UN next week, while Mrs. Bush will also have a busy schedule while they are in New York.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, a big FR favorite, has added a new and very welcome aggressive touch to White House communications efforts. The White House website now prominently features a series of rebuttals to inaccurate media reports. Called "Setting the Record Straight," the site has three rebuttals to news reports last week. All three are important, so I've linked them here, beginning with the transcript of the most significant item:
Setting the Record Straight: JAG Leaders Say Common Article 3 Provisions Would Be "Helpful"Incorrect media assertion: The New York Times reports that JAG leaders "would agree only to say that they could not find anything illegal about the specific issue of amending [Geneva Conventions] Common Article 3." (Kate Zernike, "Rebuff For Bush On Terror Trials In A Senate Test," The New York Times, 9/15/06).
White House rebuttal:
JAG Leaders Affirmatively Say The Administration's Common Article 3 Provisions Would Be "Helpful"
According to the JAG lawyers' letter: "Indeed, we think these provisions would be helpful to our fighting men and women at war on behalf of our country."
TEXT OF LETTER to Sen. John Warner and Rep. Duncan Hunter, 9/13/06:
"We do not object to Section 6 of the Administration proposal, which would clarify the obligations of the United States under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and Section 7 of the Administration proposal, which would address crimes under the War Crimes Act. Indeed, we think these provisions would be helpful to our fighting men and women at war on behalf of our Country."
Signed:
Major General Scott Black, U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General
Major General Charles J. Dunlap, Jr., U.S. Air Force, Deputy Judge Advocate General
Rear Admiral Bruce Macdonald, U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General
Brigadier General James C. Walker, Staff Judge Advocate to the U.S. Marine Corps
Colonel Ronald M. Reed, U.S. Air Force, Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffIn an August 2 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Military JAG’s support bringing definition to Common Article 3.
SEN. FEINSTEIN: "Admiral MacDonald and Admiral Black -- excuse me, General Black -- you both speak about Common Article 3 in your written comments, the prohibition -- Admiral MacDonald -- you say 'Common Article 3's prohibition upon outrages (up)on personal dignity is not well defined.' How would you suggest we define it?"
GEN. BLACK: "In its current formulation, it's entirely too vague, and it puts -- as you mentioned before -- our service members at risk, our own service members at risk." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)GEN. RIVES: "We welcome congressional efforts to better define which 'outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment,' amount to serious breaches worthy [of] classification as felonies. Such efforts would serve our men and women fighting the global war on terrorism by providing clearly delineated limits…Congressional efforts to better define these terms for Common Article 3 purposes will provide needed clarity to the rules of conduct for our military forces." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)
SEN. GRAHAM: "To the judge advocates, have you been consulted fairly extensively about military commissions and Common Article 3 by the administration?"
JAG GENERALS: (1) "Yes, sir, we have." (2) "Particularly of late, sir." (3) "Yes, sir." (Committee On The Judiciary, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 8/2/06)
Now and Then: Editorials on the McCain Amendment
Newspaper editorials previously said the the Administration's Common Article 3 proposal would prohibit torture, but they now say it will permit torture.
The Rest of the Story: Iraq's Links to Al Qaeda
The Washington Post quotes the President without including the full context of his remarks distinguishing Al Qaeda from Saddam, and falsely reports that the CIA said Saddam did not have links to Al Qaeda.
GOVERNOR ANN RICHARDS FUNERAL: Former Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a Texan and close personal friend of President and Mrs. Bush, will attend the funeral services to be held for Governor Ann Richards at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center on Monday, September 18, on behalf of President and Mrs. Bush. The first couple will be in New York for the UN General Assembly address and meetings. The White House released a statement that said: "As a lifelong Texan, Secretary Evans had the highest regard for the Governor, and he appreciated her tireless efforts on behalf of the state and her zest for life that endeared her to the entire country. The President regrets being unable to attend her funeral, and he and Mrs. Bush send their deepest condolences to the Governor's family."
Fans of Press Secretary Tony Snow will enjoy hearing the news that he has hired a new assistant. Tony Fratto, currently Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Treasury, will be coming over to the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Assistant Press Secretary, or Deputy Press Secretary [title to be determined], a week from Monday [i.e., 9/25/06].
THE WEEK AHEAD: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, President and Mrs. Bush will be in New York to participate in the 61st United Nations General Assembly and related events. In addition to the formal UN-related events, the President will meet bilaterally with several other world leaders during the visit. The Palestinian Authority issued a statement today that President Bush will meet with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. However, the White House had not confirmed this meeting as of early evening today.
_ Sept. 18, the First Lady will be highlighting the importance of literacy for both individual and national growth by hosting the first White House Conference on Global Literacy. The conference will be held at the New York Public Library._ Sept. 19, President Bush will address the Plenary Session of the General Debate of the General Assembly. He will meet with Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Sheikha Haya bint Rashid al Khalifa, who assumes the presidency of the General Assembly this month, to discuss a range of issues. GWB will host a meeting of leaders from democratic states and civil society organizations involved in building the institutions of democracy around the world. He will also attend a luncheon hosted by the Secretary-General. That evening, President and Mrs. Bush will host a reception for Heads of Delegation.
_ Sept. 22, President Bush will welcome President Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the White House. The two Presidents last met during President Bush's historic visit to Pakistan in March.
EXTENDED SCHEDULE:
_ Sept. 26, President Bush will welcome President Hamid Karzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the White House. The visit will be an opportunity for the President to congratulate President Karzai on the progress Afghanistan has made over the last five years and to reaffirm America's commitment to stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan._ Sept. 26, First Lady Laura Bush will attend a fundraiser at the Hotel Utica, upstate New York, for State Senator Raymond Meier's congressional campaign. Sen. Meier is running for the open seat of retiring Rep. Sherwood Boehlert.
_ Sept. 29, President Bush will welcome President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the White House. Kazakhstan is an important strategic partner in Central Asia.
_ Oct. 3, President Bush will visit Northern California to campaign for two Republican congressional candidates. GWB will visit Stockton to headline a fundraiser for Rep. Richard Tracy. The breakfast is expected to be at the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium. Later that same day, President Bush will headline a fundraiser for Rep. John Doolittle at the El Dorado Hills Country Club. Both incumbents represent Republican-leaning districts that the President carried handily in 2004.
_ Nov. 28-29, President Bush will travel to Tallanin, Estonia, for meetings with the President and Prime Minister of Estonia. He will then travel to Riga, Latvia, for the NATO summit.
VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: The Vice President has been on a hectic schedule of campaign stops, including one in California last Friday. On Monday, he will visit northeastern Pennsylvania to raise campaign funds for Republican Rep. Don Sherwood. He will also attend a fundraiser for Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. The Santorum campaign announced that the visit will be next week, but no specific date was given. Although no date has been announced yet, the VP will be traveling to Houston soon to raise funds for the Congressional campaign of Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, several sources told the Fort Bend Herald this week.
Yes, if I recall correctly, she did. They marry young, have children young, and live a very hard-scrabble life. She wasn't old in the second photo, but looked much older than her actual years.
She was a true beauty in her youth, though.
It was just the right note of annoyance and command. Th perfect brush-off. :)
Re the packaged spinach...snicker. ;-)
A very hard life, that is so sad. :( What a beauty when she was younger, but even then she appears like she has seen more than our young girls will ever have to witness.
Look at how his hair has greyed in a year. He has a lot on his plate. I would NOT want his job...
Thanks for the dose
Congratulations on winning the toaster - what would you like on it?
It's a tough job, and his watch has been one of the four toughest ever (Washington as first president, Lincoln and FDR being the others). On the other hand, we should bear in mind that he is over 60 now.
Hi snugs. You are most welcome. :)
He is NOT weak. He has to fight TWO wars while in office. One against a cowardly enemy and another to educate many of his fellow citizens who seem to think it is better to bury their heads in the sand about effective foreign policy.
Pretty hard life. Surprising, to me at least, she has survived.
I got the impression you were not impressed with the book.
Maybe because you call yourself one they feel that it would not be an insult to call you one.
nothing about being obliged to like other people. ..
At our house I teach my son that we are only commanded to Love Our Neighbors, not be friends with them. Keeps the pressure off of having to play with them.
Thanx for the captions and the racaps from yesterday!! Great Dose!
Me neither
Grin...
Re the one in your fridge, be careful. I would go with frozen spinach instead of the fresh packages.
I wasn't at all. I like Ari, and thought he was a good Press Secretary. So I was surprised to find that his book was incredibly dry and pointless. Instead of focusing on the big events of the first four years of GWB's presidency, Ari's book was all about explaining why he interacted with the WH press corps the way he did. It was sort of an apologia for the way he interacted with them. Boring and, as I said, pointless, contributing nothing to our larger understanding of those most historic years.
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