Chief Spy or Chief Enforcer?

"Brownie was doing a heck of a job. President Bush, [had] his sleeves rolled up as if he were about to fill sandbags in the Lower 9th Ward. . . .

"Imagine if the government restricted the efforts of journalists to gather the news there. The entire country might have applauded as Bush gave Brownie a medal. This is what is at stake in Iraq."

Where's the Proof?

Michael R. Gordon writes in the New York Times: "Attacks on American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb said to be supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, according to the American military."

Gordon notes how blaming Iran runs somewhat afoul of the other White House sanctioned message from military spokesmen: "Such bombs, which fire a semi-molten copper slug that can penetrate the armor on a Humvee and are among the deadliest weapons used against American forces, are used almost exclusively by Shiite militants. . . .

"In recent weeks, the American military has focused on mounting operations in sanctuaries used by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a Sunni group that is predominately made up of Iraqis but has foreign leadership."

And where's the proof? There's none here. "American intelligence officials have presented evidence that the weapons come from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran," Gordon writes, "although Tehran has repeatedly denied providing lethal assistance to Iraqi group."

And where's the skepticism? Summarized in one paragraph: "Some critics of Bush administration policy, saying there is no proof that the top echelons of Iran's government are involved, accuse the White House of exaggerating the role of Iran and Syria to divert attention from its own mistakes."

Aggrandizing the Terrorists

Wesley K. Clark and Kal Raustiala write in a New York Times op-ed: "If we are to defeat terrorists across the globe, we must do everything possible to deny legitimacy to their aims and means, and gain legitimacy for ourselves. As a result, terrorism should be fought first with information exchanges and law enforcement, then with more effective domestic security measures. Only as a last resort should we call on the military and label such activities 'war.' The formula for defeating terrorism is well known and time-proven. . . .

"[T]he Bush administration's approach to terrorism has created more problems than it has solved. We need to recognize that terrorists, while dangerous, are more like modern-day pirates than warriors. They ought to be pursued, tried and convicted in the courts. At the extreme, yes, military force may be required. But the terrorists themselves are not 'combatants.' They are merely criminals, albeit criminals of an especially heinous type, and that label suggests the appropriate venue for dealing with the threats they pose."

Hear the Words of Osama

Bush repeatedly says it's important to listen to the words of Osama bin Laden and take them seriously. He also says that terrorists "hate us for our freedoms."

Reza Aslan writes in Slate: "A spate of books has appeared over the last year, gathering the words of America's enemies. The first and best of these is Messages to the World, a collection of Osama Bin Laden's declarations translated by Duke University professor Bruce Lawrence, in which Bin Laden himself dismisses Bush's accusation that he hates America's freedoms. 'Perhaps he can tell us why we did not attack Sweden, for example?'"

Aslan notes: "If we are truly locked in an ideological war, as the president keeps reminding us, then our greatest weapons are our words. And thus far, instead of fighting this war on our terms, we have been fighting it on al-Qaida's."

Aslan quotes from a bin Laden statement: "Bush left no room for doubts or media opinion. He stated clearly that this war is a Crusader war. He said this in front of the whole world so as to emphasize this fact. . . . When Bush says that, they try to cover up for him, then he said he didn't mean it. He said, 'crusade.' Bush divided the world into two: 'either with us or with terrorism' . . . The odd thing about this is that he has taken the words right out of our mouths."

Vacation Watch

Edwin Chen writes for Bloomberg: "It's August in Washington and the city is emptying out.

"Members of Congress left over the weekend and won't be back until Sept. 4. President George W. Bush goes tomorrow to his family's seaside compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a long weekend before heading for his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Call it a recess, call it a break, just don't call it a vacation. . . .

"It's an especially sensitive topic this August because the administration and Congress put pressure on Iraq's parliament to work through the scorching Baghdad summer and pass legislation aimed at promoting political unity and stabilization. Paying little heed, the parliament on July 30 left for a month off.

"'It's better than taking two months off, which was their original plan,' Vice President Dick Cheney said in a July 31 interview on CNN.

"Cheney, 66, who left last weekend for his Wyoming ranch, quickly noted that the U.S. Congress 'of course takes the month of August off. . . .

"Bush's full August schedule hasn't been disclosed. He will be at the ranch for about half the month, interrupted by an Aug. 20-21 meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders."

Tony Snow on Cancer

David Gregory interviewed White House Press Secretary Tony Snow on the NBC Nightly News last night.

The Associated Press reports: "Snow says he's hopeful he can overcome his latest bout of colon cancer, calling his high-stress job 'good therapy.' . . .

"'Medical technology is moving so quickly that, you know, if you buy yourself two or three years, you buy yourself 10 years,' said Snow, who . . . has been undergoing chemotherapy after doctors discovered a recurrence of his cancer in March."

Here is video of the entire interview.

Twice, Snow choked up when talking about his family. "It's great to love people this much," he said.

Gregory ended his report this way: "For the face of the White House, an uncertain future -- but a strong belief that life goes on."

Late Night Humor

Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert approvingly cites Vice President Cheney's admonition that "we have to work the dark side" to defeat terrorism. But then he airs a new concern, in light of the recent passage of Bush's surveillance bill:

"The vice president knew that we cannot win this war if we go by the book. You do whatever it takes. You go beyond what's legal. You go past what's acceptable. But thanks to this new law, all that dark side is now allowed. And we know doing what's allowed is not enough. . . .

"Now that indefinite detention, enhanced interrogation and domestic spying are acceptable, it is getting harder and harder to find those things that we as Americans theoretically cannot bring ourselves to do."

Cartoon Watch

Mike Luckovich on Bush's stupid pet tricks.

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