Waiting for Rove

Spy Watch

Joby Warrick writes in The Washington Post: "The Bush administration unveiled new operating guidelines for the nation's intelligence community yesterday in a move that boosted the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) while triggering protests from lawmakers who complained that they weren't properly consulted. . . .

"Although the revamped order had been in the works for a year, its formal unveiling prompted a rare revolt from congressional Republicans, some of whom walked out on Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell during a morning briefing. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (Mich.), ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, led several GOP colleagues to the exit after complaining that the administration had made the changes secretly without consulting with congressional overseers -- part of a pattern dating to the beginning of the Bush presidency, Hoekstra said."

Scott Shane writes in the New York Times: "The American Civil Liberties Union was also displeased. It maintained that changes in the executive order raised the specter of greater domestic spying, saying new language shifted the focus of the intelligence agencies to American soil. Michael German, national security policy counsel for the A.C.L.U., pointed to the order's references to the agencies' working with 'private sector entities' and said, 'When you have government and private companies operating together in secret, I think that's very problematic.'

"Administration officials, in a briefing for reporters that was given on condition of anonymity, said Congress had in fact been consulted and noted that the revised order included strong language in support of the protection of civil liberties. It also retains prohibitions on assassination and human experimentation that have been in the executive order since it was first issued by President Ronald Reagan in 1981."

Iraq Watch

Amit R. Paley writes in The Washington Post: "In a brief statement at the White House early Thursday, President Bush suggested that the decreasing violence in Iraq would allow him to withdraw additional U.S. troops before he leaves office. . . .

"Bush struck a delicate rhetorical balance between asserting his view that sending additional troops to Iraq has been a success and cautioning that withdrawing troops too rapidly could jeopardize security improvements.

"The last of five additional combat brigades sent to Iraq last year left in July, leaving about 140,000 U.S. troops in the country. About 130,000 were in Iraq before the buildup began.

"Starting Friday, Bush said, troop deployments in Iraq will shorten from 15 months to 12. The policy, first announced in April, applies to troops heading to Iraq but not those already stationed there. . . .

"Bush's statement came on the day the U.S. and Iraqi governments had originally set as a deadline for reaching a security agreement governing the future role of U.S. forces in Iraq."

James Gerstenzang writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Bush's remarks, delivered to reporters summoned to the colonnade at the edge of the Rose Garden, offered no assessments that had not already been delivered by military officers and other officials."

Steven Lee Myers and Sabrina Tavernise write in the New York Times: "President Bush said Thursday that increased stability in Iraq would allow the withdrawal of more American forces there, reflecting an emerging consensus at the White House and the Pentagon, though a cautious one, that the war has turned a corner."

But is it an emerging consensus, or is it spin? I wrote in yesterday's column that Bush was kicking off what could be his last major public-relations campaign -- this one to persuade the public that Iraq is finally headed in the right direction and that if things start to go badly again, it won't be his fault.

Agreement Watch

Ned Parker and Peter Spiegel write in the Los Angeles Times: "Iraqi officials said Thursday that they were close to finalizing a new security arrangement that would set out the goal of withdrawing all U.S. combat troops from the country, while stopping short of establishing a strict timetable for their departure.

"The pact would outline a conditional time frame for Iraqi troops to take charge of the country and U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn, according to Iraqi officials familiar with the talks.

"The Iraqis said the new arrangement would allow Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to claim that he has enshrined the principle of an American withdrawal, a key demand for a government eager to show independence from Washington while keeping the flexibility to extend the U.S. military presence if security deteriorates.

"As long as the country remains stable, Maliki has said, he sees no need for U.S. combat forces to remain past 2010, roughly matching the timeline for a phased withdrawal proposed by Sen. Barack Obama. The Bush administration and Sen. John McCain have opposed committing to rigid deadlines, though the White House recently acknowledged a willingness to adhere to a 'general time horizon' for Iraqi forces to take full control of security and for the number of U.S. troops to be reduced."

Rice Watch

Massimo Calabresi sees the hand of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice behind "a summer of unexpected shifts in American foreign policy. Washington has dramatically changed course overseas, agreeing to diplomatic concessions it once derided as softheaded and dangerous--including the possibility of a phased withdrawal from Iraq. . . .

"The Administration's move away from saber-rattling is most evident with North Korea and Iran, two charter members of Bush's 'axis of evil' that the Administration had long sought to isolate. . . .

"Such moves signal the latest triumph of realism over ideology -- and a victory for Rice and her diplomatic team over the neoconservatives led by Vice President Dick Cheney. Since Rice took the helm at State in 2005, she has steadily consolidated her authority over foreign policy. If her clout isn't absolute, it is approaching the veto-proof swat that Cheney enjoyed as the secret vicar of national security in 2002 and 2003."

Seymour Hersh Watch

Faiz Shakir reports for Thinkprogress.org: "Speaking at the Campus Progress journalism conference earlier this month, Seymour Hersh -- a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker -- revealed that Bush administration officials held a meeting recently in the Vice President's office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran.

"In Hersh's most recent article, he reports that this meeting occurred in the wake of the overblown incident in the Strait of Hormuz, when a U.S. carrier almost shot at a few small Iranian speedboats. . . .

"During the journalism conference event, I asked Hersh specifically about this meeting and if he could elaborate on what occurred. Hersh explained that, during the meeting in Cheney's office, an idea was considered to dress up Navy Seals as Iranians, put them on fake Iranian speedboats, and shoot at them. This idea, intended to provoke an Iran war, was ultimately rejected."

Kevin Drum blogs for Washington Monthly: "If this story sounds familiar, that's because it is. In one of David Manning's famous memos describing a prewar meeting between George Bush and Tony Blair, he says that Bush admitted that WMD was unlikely to be found in Iraq and then mused on some possible options for justifying a war anyway."

One option attributed to Bush in the memo was flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in U.N. colours, with Bush allegedly arguing: "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach."

Notes Drum: "In the end, of course, we didn't do this. We just didn't bother with any pretext at all."

Blogging Watch

Alexis Simendinger writes in the National Journal: "The mainstream media's chase for readers, viewers, and advertisers is slowly changing the way some traditional straight-news journalists cover the White House."

She sees signs "that blog writing, verite video, and behind-the-scenes peeks at the presidency -- offered by the same White House reporters who are paid to trail the president for grander purposes -- might morph from sideshow to center ring during the next administration."

Cheney Celebrates Rush Limbaugh

From Rush Limbaugh's Web site: "Hello Rush. This is Dick Cheney. I'm a big fan of your show, as you know, and I'm sending good wishes to you as you mark your 20th year on the air. This great achievement testifies to your hard work and to the high standard of excellence that's become your trademark. You are without question one of the great names in broadcasting history. I'm proud to know you, proud to call you a friend, and I look forward to listening for many years to come. Congratulations. Keep up the great work."

Cartoon Watch

Tom Toles, John Sherrfius, and RJ Matson on Karl Rove's legacy; Ann Telnaes and Adam Zyglis on Bush's energy policy; Stuart Carlson, Signe Wilkinson and Bill Mitchell on Justice Department hiring.