As usual, Glenn Greenwald purposely distorts my position, this time on the torture memos, making it seem as if I opposed their release, when in fact–as Swampland readers know–I favored the release and vehemently opposed, on numerous occasions, the CIA’s various “enhanced interrogation” practices. What I did do that seems to have piqued Greenwald’s ire [...]

One of the most striking things about the interrogation memos released last week is the way that the Justice Department purported to use academic science to excuse procedures that would clearly cause significant pain for detainees. In one memo, Steven Bradbury, a deputy assistant attorney general, credulously cites CIA medical experts who argued that “even [...]

It’s been a topsy-turvy year so far for Kansas anti-abortion activists. Their efforts to prevent Governor Kathleen Sebelius from becoming HHS Secretary fell short (she’s expected to be confirmed by the Senate Finance Committee tomorrow). But that also means the woman they describe as “the most pro-abortion governor” is no longer in a position to [...]

Though we’ve known for a while that Ted Kennedy and Max Baucus were aiming for a June mark up of health care reform legislation, they today sent an official letter (full text after the jump) to President Obama underscoring this intention. The key passage: Since our committees share jurisdiction over health care reform legislation in [...]

As lovely and inspiring as Susan Boyle’s rendition of that wretched, banal song from Les Miserables was on the British version of American idol, the performance that has been haunting me in recent days comes from a documentary about the Afghan version of the same program, Afghan Star. The performance is delivered by a young [...]

Markets are down in early trading this morning, and you get the feeling that this might not be a terrific week. I’ve been doing some reporting in the financial crisis area–away from foreign policy for a change–and I’ve gotten the clear sense that the bankers still haven’t quite realized (a) how much and why the [...]

President Obama has an ability to issue coherent, Op-Ed-length answers during press conferences that is currently unmatched on the American political stage. Today, at a press conference in Trinidad, NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Obama to describe the “Obama doctrine” for foreign policy. At first Obama joked that it would be up to the press to [...]

The top strategist for John McCain’s presidential campaign spoke today to the Log Cabin Republicans in Washington. He raised alarms about the dire state of the Republican Party, and argued that a continued refusal  to recognize the civil rights of gay and lesbian couples would spell further doom for the GOP. [W]hile I think projections [...]

Mark Kukis, who is reporting for TIME in Baghdad, files this report describing the estimated 60,481 civilians who have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war. Executions with firearms, not bomb blasts, have killed most civilians in Iraq. Researchers say 33% of the victims examined in the study died by execution after [...]