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In her Time Magazine interview, Condoleezza Rice, like SecDef Gates, seems to be saying that Baghdad can be pacified in a matter of months:
“I think in the next few months you are going to know whether or not this is working,” she said. “They bring forces in starting February 1st. They bring in another set of forces February 15th. And I …

OK, so the question is: Was the U.S. assault on the Iranian consulate in Irbil–sovereign Iranian territory–legal? Does the President have the power to invade another country without authorization under the war powers act? I would think not, but I just spoke to a Democratic Member of Congress who was freaked by the obvious attempt to …

Just a quick thought before the Delta shuttle takes off. Boxer’s point is fair, as far as it goes. It’s certainly not disqualifying to be a policymaker in times of war if you don’t have children who are in the military or are, at least, fighting age. But there’s no question there’s a disconnect between those families that experience the …

Senator Boxer’s spokeswoman suggests the comment should be viewed in fuller context, so here it is:

Now, the issue is who pays the price. Who pays the price?

I’m not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and
my grandchild is too young. You’re not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it,
with immediate

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There’s lots of chatter today on the web and in print about the remarkable exchange between Barbara Boxer and Condi Rice. In case you missed it, the Senator (and grandmother) from California told the (single) Secretary of State that she couldn’t understand the sacrifice that Americans are making in Iraq because:

You’re not going to pay

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I know I’ve been flogging the idea that the escalation is not an Iraqi idea, but this from the incredible John Burns and Sabrina Tavernise pretty much confirms it.
The most dubious aspect of all this is the notion–floated by Secretary of Defense Gates in testimony yesterday–that Baghdad can be pacified and American troops withdrawn …

As promised, my new column about the limits of counterinsurgency strategy

In today’s WSJ, , Rudy and Newt are urging “workfare” for Iraq:

The administration should direct a small percent of that amount to create an Iraqi Citizen Job Corps, along the lines of FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

Isn’t that exactly the kind of program Republicans spent decades trying to shut down in …

800,000 Privileged Youths Enlist To Fight In Iraq

Private Jonathan Grace, 18, who was to commence studies at Dartmouth College next fall, but will instead attend 12 weeks of basic training before being deployed to Fallujah with the 1st Army Battalion [said] “Whether I agree with the war or not, our president needs us, and I’ll be damned

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“I’d much rather lose a campaign than lose a war.”

It’s true, Jay, that few people doubt McCain sincerely believes in what he is advocating. But when he first took this position of calling for more troops, it was something of a free shot for him: It didn’t look all that risky politically, because Rumsfeld was still running the …

What to make of John McCain’s unequivocal embrace of Bush’s plan? On Monday I wrote,

Here’s something to watch for: will McCain, Bill Kristol, Gen. Keane and Fred Kagan go along with the President if what we are hearing is correct — that Bush will propose a “surge” of approximately 20,000 troops rather than the 30,000-plus, over at

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Today’s WSJ brings an important clarification on Nancy Pelosi’s newly instituted ban on smoking near the floor of the House, which Representatives had been permitted to do, despite a District-wide ban on smoking in the workplace:

But Congress often exempts itself from the law. Unlike most other employees, members of Congress are exempt

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Some reliable swooners seem to have been underwhelmed by the speech last night. Over at Powerline, John Hinderacker, who memorably once described a meeting with Bush as “the most inspiring forty minutes I’ve experienced in politics” and and Bush himself as a “man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius,” said Bush …