Afghanistan Pushes Back

"On the other hand, if the appeals court temporarily blocks Miers' testimony, it could allow the Bush administration to run out the clock before a new Congress comes to Washington and the case becomes moot. In that situation, Bates' order will have been weakened and future presidents will have more wiggle room."

Schmitt writes in the LA Times that "several legal scholars said they doubted that even a conservative panel would intervene. Bates himself was appointed by Bush to the federal bench in 2001, they noted, and he was likely to be shown deference.

"They also said his central ruling appeared to be indisputable.

"'The Supreme Court has never given any indication that the White House counsel or people who work for the president can just ignore a subpoena,' said Cass R. Sunstein, a professor at the University of Chicago law school. 'It would be very surprising to think that the White House official does not even have to appear to assert the privilege.'"

And what about the continued negotiations between the White House and the Judiciary Committee?

Apuzzo writes: "House counsel Irv Nathan said negotiations have been 'completely useless.'

"'We have not found willing partners on the other side of the table,' Nathan said in court Wednesday, telling Bates that 'we're being dunced around here.'

"Justice Department attorney Carl Nichols called those statements misleading but declined to elaborate."

Cheney on Georgia

Tim Gaynor writes for Reuters: "Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday called Russia's actions in Georgia an 'unjustified assault' and pledged to ensure the small U.S. ally's territorial integrity.

"'We will work with our allies to ensure Georgia's territorial integrity as a free and independent nation,' Cheney told a meeting of armed forces veterans in Phoenix ahead of his trip to the Georgian capital Tbilisi next week."

Cheney on Torture

CNN reports: "Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration's record on prisoner interrogations, telling a veterans' group that its use of 'alternative' techniques against suspects was legal and proper."

But talk about chutzpah. Cheney, after raising the issue of interrogation policy, stressed that "it's important for Americans to understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what we are not doing."