Guest blogged by David Edwards

Earlier this week Robert Fisk was interviewed at California State Polytechnic University. Robert Fisk, a journalist for The Independant, is a specialist in reporting on the Middle East. Host, Saul Landau, asked Mr. Fisk about the current situation in Iraq.

Fisk makes some important points during this interview:

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The entire video of Robert Fisk's interview includes some discussion on Robert Fisk's new book. It can be streamed from California State Polytechnic University.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

If reporters and cameras greet you as you leave for work in the morning then you are probably in the media's spotlight. Karl Rove found himself in that familiar situation this morning and it's making some Republicans a little nervous.

As MSNBC's David Shuster says in the following clip, Viveca Novak's testimony did little to help Rove. Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, has predicted that Viveca Novak's testimony about indirectly reminding Rove of a conversation with Time's Matt Cooper would explain why Rove's initial testimony to the grand jury didn't include those conversations in which Rove revealed the identity of a CIA agent.

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If reports are correct then Viveca Novak's testimony did little or nothing to bolster Rove's case. It also doesn't explain why Rove took 5 months after being "reminded" of his conversation with Cooper to notify the grand jury. An article posted at The Raw Story says that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is presenting additional evidence to the grand jury today.

The other unrelated "Novak" popped out of his hole long enough to stir up some more controversy in the CIA Leak investigation. As reported by The News & Observer, Robert Novak, who was first to disclose the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame in the press, said the president knows the identity of the individual in the White House who leaked Plame's identity.

UPDATE from The Raw Story: Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald did not meet with the grand jury today as expected. Sources (vague as they are) report that Fitzgerald did "move forward" with the case.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

CNN Reports that Iraqi insurgents (Bush-speak: Saddamists, Rejectionists, and Terrorists) are building more sophisticated I.E.D.'s (improvised explosive devices) which increases the violence and danger for U.S. Forces. A new type of IED uses a projectile that can go through 4 inches of steel on an M1 tank from 300 feet away. The projectile-style IED is often hidden in foam and disguised to look like concrete.

The Pentagon claims that Syrians and Iranians are coming across the borders to train insurgents how to build more sophisticated weapons. Attacks are expected to increase after the election.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

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This morning on the NBC Today Show, Chris Matthews acknowledged that falling gas prices have given the president a small bump in the polls. Matthews said that the trend in approval ratings since 9/11 is downward and that trend will continue due to problems with the Administration's Iraq policy.

President Bush's recent speeches win the argument that "We cannot leave Iraq now" but it also reinforces the perception that "we are never leaving Iraq". In fact, Matthews said, he had never heard the president say that we would eventually pull all the troops out of Iraq. It is no secret that the neocons have long wanted to use permanent military power to protect our "interests in Iraq" and to eventually become the dominate military power in the Middle East.

The unspoken policy of unending military influence in Iraq offers Americans no "light at the end of the tunnel", Matthews said.

Democrats have been largely divided on the future of the Iraq war. Matthews predicted that Harry Reid would attempt to show that most Democrats are coalesced behind a moderate pseudo-policy. Senator Reid and other Democrats will suggest a "timetable" that draws down troops based on measurable progress without imposing an actual timeline. Matthews thinks that it could take a year or longer to put enough pressure on the administration before they would accept concrete definitions of success tied to troop redeployments.

Matthews said that both sides should join the debate on whether or not there will be total troop withdrawal from Iraq.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Senator Joe Lieberman said he had breakfast with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and General Pace. Lieberman denied rumors that he has plans to replace Rumsfeld as the Secretary of Defense.

According to an AP report, the Pentagon claims that the breakfast meeting was called so that Lieberman could share his impressions of Iraq with Rumsfeld and General Pace.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report continued his role as a warrior against the "secular cabal" that is trying to destroy Christmas. On an earlier show, Colbert had followed the lead of Bill O'Reilly, speaking out against the silent discrimination of Christmas.

Colbert starts a new battlefront against the "War on Christmas" by declaring his "Campaign Against Humbuggery"...

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ALSO: Check out The Daily Show's response to Bill O'Reilly's attack and don't miss The BRAD BLOG's exclusive full report on O'Reilly's phony and misleading "war on Christmas".

Guest blogged by David Edwards

As BRAD BLOG reported earlier, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart slammed Fox News and Bill O'Reilly for hyping the divisive myth that Christians in the U.S. are being persecuted. O'Reilly is just one of the Fox anchors claiming that the Christmas holiday is under seige by an evil secular conspiracy --- but he may be the lyin'ist!

Stewart asked Samantha Bee to help fact-check O'Reilly's "reporting"...

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UPDATE FROM BRAD: Here's our original report in which we discovered the true meaning of Christmas: Lying about comedy shows to prop up yourself, your sad little agenda, and your phony little "War on Christmas"...Oh, and find a Jew to make stuff up about America while you're at it.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Stephen Colbert, host of The Comedy Channel's Colbert Report, spoofed Fox New's top rated Bill O'Reilly. Colbert regularly mocks O'Reilly's "Talking Points" segment with his own version call "The Word".

Colbert's latest rant, pokes fun at Bill O'Reilly's much-hyped "War on Christmas". O'Reilly has previously attacked the The Comedy Channel, calling it "The Secular Channel". (Check out this BRAD BLOG report for the full scoop.)

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Secretary of State Rice is in Europe this week defending the U.S. policies including the use of secret prisons and the CIA practice called "extreme rendition".

ABC News is reporting that prior to Rice's European trip, the CIA moved quickly to relocate all secret prisoners located in Europe.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Ann Coulter was called out on Countdown's nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment for posting the personal information of one of her critics on her website. They also noted that she referred to liberals as "Nazi block watchers" on Fox's O'Reilly Factor

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

This morning on ABC's This Week, Congressman John Murtha told George Stephanopoulos that he believes the Bush Administration will pull out of Iraq in 2006.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

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On Wednesday, President Bush gave a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to unveil an unclassified version of something called the "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq".

As Maureen Dowd notes in today's NY Times, the Bush Administration's recently released plan is not a plan for victory as much as badly crafted political talking points. We wonder if the victory that Mr. Bush is planning for has more to do with the 2006 elections than achieving stability in Iraq.

Mr. Bush asserts that progress is being made in Iraq but his facts don't stand up to the truth on the ground. One of the most glaring discrepancies is Bush's claim that Iraqi troops lead the recent assault on Tal Afar. The Time Magazine reporter, Michael Ware, who was embedded with Iraqi troops in the Tal Afar battle has a different story:

It's no surprise that a majority of Americans don't believe that the Bush Administration has a plan for victory in Iraq.

While the Bush team is flailing to find decent talking points, the Democrats can't seem to agree on any plan for resolution of the Iraq war crisis. By the end of this week the Democrats were holding at least three different positions:

• Lieberman - Let 'em die. Whatever Bush says is OK with me.

• Hillary - Let 'em die for another year or so. Maybe I'll change my mind after a few more polls.
• Murtha - Bring 'em home as soon as practicable (6 months or less).

We've complied some video clips highlighting this week's developments in the politics of Iraq. From Bush's misleading speech to the Democrats fractured positions, it seems that most politicians are more concerned with their political futures than the futures of 150,000 men and women who have become living targets in an un-justified and un-winnable war.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

This report from David Schuster of MSNBC's Hardball provides a review of the corruption investigations heating up in Washington D.C.  Schuster concludes:

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Last week, über-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's former partner Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty. As part of the plea deal, Scanlon admitted that he conspired to bribe public officials and defrauded several Indian casinos of millions of dollars. Scanlon has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and pay restitution in the amount of $19 million.

Yesterday, on the Sunday talk shows, they were abuzz about the spectre of a scandal which threatens to overwhelm Washington. We've got a video compilation below.

U.S. News & World Report has learned that Scanlon is now the star witness "in a probe that threatens to ensnare officials throughout the nation's capital." A source reports that the scandal could take out a least a dozen in Congress.

John McCain is leading the senate investigation into Abramoff which has been also linked to the anti-government crusader Grover Norquist. According to an article in the Boston Globe, Norquist is now attacking McCain.

We've put together clips of discussions on the GOP's Abramoff scandal from this Sunday's editions of ABC's This Week and Fox News Sunday. All the pundits seem to agree that this investigation could become a big problem for Republicans.

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(If anyone feels like typing up a partial transcript, let me know, and I'll post it here.)