What Has Bush Done to the Government?

"The Bush administration said earlier this year that it probably would need $147.5 billion for 2008, but Pentagon officials now say that and $47 billion more will be required. . . .

"When costs of CIA operations and embassy expenses are added, the war in Iraq currently costs taxpayers about $12 billion a month, said Winslow T. Wheeler, a former Republican congressional budget aide who is a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information in Washington.

"'Everybody predicts declines, but they haven't occurred, and 2008 will be higher than 2007,' Wheeler said. 'It all depends on what happens in Iraq, but thus far it has continued to get bloodier and more expensive. Everyone says we are going to turn the corner here, but the corner has not been turned.'"

The Oilman

Richard Wolffe and Gretel C. Kovach write in Newsweek about Jay Hunt's ambiguous role in Iraq. The longtime Bush friend and benefactor's oil company "announced this month that, after secret negotiations, it had struck a deal with leaders in the country's Kurdish-controlled north to explore for oil in the Dahuk region near the Turkish border." The move threatens "to disrupt already fragile talks over a critical benchmark for peace: an agreement among the Sunni, Shiites and Kurds to share profits from the country's bountiful oil supply. . . .

"White House officials may not have helped Hunt put together the deal, but that doesn't mean they're not doing their best to portray Hunt's project as a sign of progress. 'It's positive that a firm would choose to invest in Iraq--whether an American firm or not,' says spokesman Tony Fratto."

But consider this: "At least one top White House official was willing to express some skepticism. Asked by Newsweek about the controversy at last Thursday's news conference, President Bush said, 'I knew nothing about the deal. I need to know exactly how it happened. To the extent that it does undermine the ability for the government to come up with an oil revenue-sharing plan that unifies the country, obviously if it undermines it, I'm concerned.'"

Mukasey Watch

Michael Isikoff writes in Newsweek about some of the conservatives who were summoned to the White House to be won over by Michael Mukasey before Bush announced his nomination as attorney general. Among them: Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo and former A.G. Edwin Meese.

Writes Isikoff: "According to three sources, who asked not to be named discussing the private meetings, Mukasey said that he saw 'significant problems' with shutting down Guant¿namo Bay and that he understood the need for the CIA to use some 'enhanced' interrogation techniques against Qaeda suspects. Mukasey also signaled reluctance with naming a special prosecutor to investigate Bush-administration misconduct, according to one participant. 'Gosh, I'm a little worried that the Democrats might have problems with him,' said one well-connected conservative after being briefed on Mukasey's responses."

Philip Shenon in the New York Times describes Mukasey's cavalier attitude toward the indefinite detention of Arab men after 9/11 -- including one college student who complained of being beaten in the federal detention center in Manhattan.

"As far as the claim that he was beaten, I will tell you that he looks fine to me," Mukasey said of the man whose prison jumpsuit covered the bruises he had across his body.

Writes Shenon: "Although Mr. Mukasey is otherwise widely admired by prosecutors and defense lawyers alike in New York, his handling of the cases of Mr. Awadallah and other material witnesses taken into custody in terrorism investigations after Sept. 11 produced some rare, sharp criticism of his performance on the bench and raised concern among civil liberties groups. Senate Democrats have suggested they will focus on the issue when Mr. Mukasey is questioned at his confirmation hearings."

Richard B. Schmitt and Richard A. Serrano write in the Los Angeles Times that "if confirmed as attorney general, his independent streak could pose problems for President Bush.