Cheney's Total Impunity

"White House spokeswoman Dana Perino insisted that Israeli and Palestinian leaders remain committed to the peace effort but acknowledged that 'more needs to be done.' . . .

"'But we're under no illusions that things are going to happen immediately,' she added. 'There's a lot of deep-seated history that has to be addressed if they're going to define a state by the end of the year.'"

Olivier Knox notes for AFP that Bush "has no plans for a joint peace summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders."

Iran Drumbeat Watch

Tina Susman writes in the Los Angeles Times that the Iraqi government "says it agrees with the United States that Iran has continued to supply weapons to anti-government militants in southern Iraq," but "seems eager to send a message to the Bush administration to back off threats of military action and allow Baghdad to pursue diplomatic solutions more quietly with Tehran."

Susman writes that Sadiq Rikabi, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, "indicated Monday that using the media as the conduit for airing differences with Iran was reminiscent of the propaganda methods of Hussein, and something the current leadership preferred to avoid.

"'We avoid using propaganda against this country or that country,' he said. 'We're trying to give a new face to Iraq.' . . .

"His comments followed the latest and most inflammatory salvo in months to come out of the Pentagon, which says rockets such as those launched into the Green Zone are coming from Shiite militias receiving training, weapons or other aid from Iran. On Friday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, cited an 'increasingly lethal and malign influence' of the Iranian government.

"Mullen did not give specifics, and it is unclear what prompted the harsh allegations."

Hannah Allam, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel write for McClatchy Newspapers: "One of the most powerful men in Iraq isn't an Iraqi government official, a militia leader, a senior cleric or a top U.S. military commander or diplomat,

"He's an Iranian general, and at times he's more influential than all of them.

"Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani commands the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, an elite paramilitary and espionage organization whose mission is to expand Iran's influence in the Middle East.

"As Tehran's point man on Iraq, he funnels military and financial support to various Iraqi factions, frustrating U.S. attempts to build a pro-Western democracy on the rubble of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.

"According to Iraqi and American officials, Suleimani has ensured the elections of pro-Iranian politicians, met frequently with senior Iraqi leaders and backed Shiite elements in the Iraqi security forces that are accused of torturing and killing minority Sunni Muslims. . . .

"Suleimani's role in Iraq illustrates how President Bush's decision to topple Saddam has enabled Shiite, Persian Iran to extend its influence in Iraq, frustrating U.S, aims there, alarming America's Sunni Arab allies in the Persian Gulf and prompting new Israeli fears about Iran's ambitions."

Yochi J. Dreazen writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Senior U.S. officials in Baghdad received back-channel messages from Iran condemning the recent bloodshed in the Iraqi city of Basra and denying that Tehran was responsible, according to people familiar with the matter.

"The messages, which haven't been publicly disclosed, come amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran and debate about Iran's intentions in Baghdad. Many U.S. officials have accused Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq and have begun describing Iran as the biggest threat to Iraq's long-term stability. Iranian officials deny the claims and accuse the U.S. of fabricating a threat to justify the military occupation of Iraq. . . .

"A senior military commander said the conciliatory tone of the communications was hard to square with indications that Iran's support for Shiite militants inside Iraq has been increasing, leading to a sharp rise in violence there. . . .

"Still, U.S. officials acknowledged that Iran helped broker the truce that eventually ended the fighting in Basra."

Dinner Redux

See my column yesterday about the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner: Party of the Damned. I'm still depressed.

David Corn blogs for Mother Jones about his "vision of the future": "[I]t's decades from now, and historians and others are trying to understand what happened in the first years of the 21st century. That was when the United States government initiated a foolhardy war on the basis of fear and hyped-up threats. It was also a period when the people in charge did not take one of their last chances to deal with the real danger of global warming. And, of course, it was during those years that American leaders hocked the nation to China and the nation's global financial standing diminished. And these historians are asking, 'What the hell went on.'

"Well, look at this old tape, one says, it just might explain. And they huddle over a holographic view-screen and watch as George W. Bush, the president during those years, is conducting the U.S. Marine Corps Band at the 2008 correspondents' dinner. He's mugging for the crowd, as he proceeds. The audience of journalists is laughing.

"And when the song is over, Bush (and the band) receives rousing cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd.

"'Hmmmm,' says one of the historians, 'very interesting.' 'How many dead American soldiers and dead Iraqis were there by this point?' asks another. . . . 'Why were they clapping with him?' asks one."

And here, via the Crooks and Liars blog, is MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "[I]t is one thing to gather for events like this in Washington. It's another one to laugh and applaud and be charmed when the president puts on a little show. It's harmless stuff, except that the people yucking it up in that scene are the people who are professionally committed to calling it when the people in power get it wrong."

Visitor Log Watch

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial board writes: "Well, well. It looks like what's good for the Democrats is not so good for the Republicans. Remember how President Clinton's opponents used the White House's visitor logs to learn about a bunch of stuff Clinton would much rather have kept on the down-low (a list of donors, Monica Lewinsky's visits, fundraisers, etc.)?

"Now, the Bush administration is seeking to keep the visitor logs under wraps, even as a federal appeals court seems to question the legitimacy of the argument. . . .

"Gosh. What, specifically, is the Bush administration trying to hide? . . .

"We hope that the courts ultimately see that citizen groups have a right to know who is glad-handing the president and why."

Live Online

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Cartoon Watch

Matt Bors on how Bush gets away with it.