Alberto Gonzales Wants to Tell the Truth?

First, some context. You don't need to watch the entire video to get the point.



The Wall Street Journal reports that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales “said he is writing a book to set the record straight about his controversial tenure as a senior official in the Bush administration." Assuming he won't compose the shortest memoir ever, Gonzales should truthfully answer this question: Has he had an amazing recovery from amnesia, or did he repeatedly lie to Congress?

The Mercurial McCain

"You're putting out stuff that is unbelievable George, and it's got to stop … and your ads have got to stop."
Sen. John McCain addressing Gov. George W. Bush at a Republican Presidential Primary Debate in 2000.

Senator McCain was so stung by accusations attributed to the Bush campaign that he admonished the Texas governor: "I don't know if you can understand this, George, but that really hurts. You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed."

During the primary campaign for the 2004 election, there was a rumor that John McCain might become John Kerry's running mate. The possibility of a unity ticket was appealing to some Democrats. They respected Sen. McCain and were anxious to end President Bush's partisan reign. Reportedly, McCain was not interested.

Four years later, Sen. John McCain is waging a campaign that should give pause to Americans of every political party.


Thanks to TPMtv

In Other News

In 2003, a substantial number of Americans opposed switching our military focus from Afghanistan to Iraq. They believed that those responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were still in Afghanistan. The previous year, a senior adviser to President Bush had labeled such critical thinkers as the “reality-based community."

On September 9, 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported that as many as 4,500 U.S. troops will redeploy from Iraq to Afghanistan by January, 2009. According to the Journal's Yochi J. Dreazen:

The planned changes represent an attempt to preserve Iraq's recent gains while freeing up modest numbers of additional forces for Afghanistan. Senior U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have said they need at least three additional combat brigades, or 10,500 to 12,000 more troops. The plan being announced by Mr. Bush would meet less than half of that request.

Two weeks after the Journal report, ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross wrote that:

US intelligence analysts are putting the finishing touches on a secret National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan that reportedly describes the situation as “grim," but there are “no plans to declassify" any of it before the election, according to one US official familiar with the process.

[…]

Seth Jones, an expert on Afghanistan at the Rand Corporation think tank, called the situation in Afghanistan “dire."

“We are now at a tipping point, with about half of the country now penetrated by a range of Sunni militant groups including the Taliban and al Queida," Jones said. Jones said there is growing concern that Dutch and Canadian forces in Afghanistan would “call it quits."

“The US military would then need six, eight, maybe ten brigades but we just don't have that many," Jones said.

The eyes of America are on Congress as they attempt to deal with the growing crisis in the financial markets, but the economy is not our only priority issue. The situation in Afghanistan deserves more attention, in the news and in the presidential debates. That is reality.