rumpole's Blog | Talking Points Memo | January 11, 2009

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Week of January 11, 2009 - January 17, 2009

Is It All About the Settlements?

January 15, 2009, 11:41AM

[warning: opinion on matter that I know very little about].

I find it really, really hard to believe that with a military of the strength and sophistication of Israel's, it was necessary to do this. Moreover, according to the mother ship, the governing ability of the Palestinian Authority has been nullified by the Gaza war.

The bombing of a UN building filled with humanitarian supplies is not the way to rebuild international support for the United States or Israeli actions in the Arab world or elsewhere. Israel's activity is one thing--United States support or approval quite another thing altogether. To the extent the United States supports Israel's activities when they do things like this, I have to believe that our interests suffer. The hatred that this and the Lebanon war have spawned will last several generations. And the people that have been bombed will begin to turn their hatred towards the United States. (Indeed, the effect of this act would appear to me to be isolating--see abstention in the UN Security council).

Second, Israel's right to self-defense notwithstanding, when this is over, there will be no one left for Israel to negotiate with--just a shell-shocked, abjectly impoverished, and angry population. War-making on this scale only makes sense (to me, anyway) if the objective is to solidify and extend territorial gains made over the years. Perhaps that was the point all along. That may be in Israel's best interests--I have no idea, but my "gut" tells me that it will be counter-productive.

Who Does a Better Job Protecting Their Shareholders Money?

January 12, 2009, 6:59PM

Here is the application for a day job at starbucks.

Here is the application for TARP bailout funds.

Eight freaking days.

Truth Commissions

January 12, 2009, 1:17PM

So I finally got around to reading the transcript from This Week. George should be commended--he went a full ten minutes without asking Obama about a flag pin.

That said, I don't understand the hand-wringing over his non-answer. Imagine what would happen if Obama had said--five days before his inauguration--"Hell yes we're going to prosecute. This rot goes all the way to the top, and we're going to roll up all the little fish until we nab the big ones: Cheney, Rumsfeld, and W himself. I'll fly them to the Hague myself."

His legislative priorities would be killed--squashed--over. He would have to fight the media every day over charges of partisanship that--baseless or not--would form the dominant narrative of every news cycle. Jobs? Stimulus? TARP? Forget it. That's not an ideal world, but it's the one we live in.

Instead of wasting this energy making people feel good, he can use his political capital to accomplish things quietly. [Note: rampant speculation follows]. Thus, for example, it would make more sense to: (1) initiate an OLC review and repudiate any opinion that condones torture. To the extent those opinions exist, make them public. Second, immediately implement clear policies and procedures in both the army and the CIA that prohibit this activity. Quietly make arrangements to shut Gitmo down.

After this foundation is in place, then it makes sense to me to go public with what you uncovered, and what you want to have changed permanently. This creates momentum for more investigations, as Congress will become interested in what actually went on. ( In contrast, it would be very hard to investigate cabinet-level appointees and bureaucracies when you've announced to the press that you're looking to mount their heads on your wall.)

That's why I think a truth commission may ultimately happen. The Commission grants immunity. Its findings should include express language stating that the Geneva Convention was broken, and that the witnesses who testified violated the law. (It's not a cathartic as a frog-march, but it will help prevent future abuses). This will be done in consultation with (and perhaps even by) Congress. If it's done properly, it will make the Republicans look terrible and there's nothing that they will be able to do about it.

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