------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight on MSNBC at 7p, 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT Today we bear witness to the timeless Washington drama of a senior official being "taken to the woodshed."* In this case, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Meyers go before Congress (both House and Senate) to explain the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the hand of U.S. service personnel...The hearings are underway and Rumsfeld has apologized...He was also interrupted by hecklers who demanded he be fired...The New York Times today is calling for Rumsfeld's resignation as is John Kerry (no surprise there)...The heat is on... Rumsfeld apologizes to abused Iraqis...Defense secretary testifies at Senate hearing http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4855930/ Washington Post update http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7297-2004May7.html Tonight we talk to members of the Senate--Cornyn (R-TX) & Dayton (D-MN)--and get some spot reax...Shuster's in West Virginia attending a presser with family members of one of the accused...He'll bring you the latest on that... We then go old school with consummate Washington insider Joseph Califano who has a new book aptly titled "Inside: A Public and Private Life"...He served in the Johnson & Carter administrations and knows a thing or two about Beltway rituals and what Rummy may be going through...We'll get his take... We wrap up with USA Today columnist Walter Shapiro who'll asses the political fallout of today's hearings and the special role Douglas Feith played in pushing this war http://www.defenselink.mil/policy/bio/feith.html * For those who don't know the phrase it harkens back to the days when kids in trouble were taken to the woodshed to be administered their corrective corporal punishment...The phrase entered Washington lexicon back in the Reagan era when his OMB director David Stockman publicly criticized Reagan's tax policy and was "taken to the woodshed" by Reagan...The original "woodshed" cartoon http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/USPics2/79426.jpg Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC Al-Sadr aide: Reward for killing British troops...Shiite also says female soldiers can be taken as slaves (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4923763/ Pentagon was warned in 2002 of contractors...Abuse scandal includes use of private interrogators (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4923442/ The Red Cross discovered "serious violations" of the rights of Iraqi prisoners, with abuse so widespread it may be considered to have been tolerated by the U.S.-led coalition, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5073940 Moran: Rummy's not going anywhere . yet: Shameful as abuse may be, resigning over this issue is not an option http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4915920/ Three U.S. military policemen who served at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison said on Thursday they had witnessed unreported cases of prisoner abuse and that the practice against Iraqis was commonplace. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5073171 U.S. troops, Shiite militia clash...U.S. troops clashed with Shiite gunmen near the center of the holy city of Karbala on Friday, with heavy gunfire and explosions heard near the office of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr less than a mile from several shrines. Separately, gunmen killed two journalists south of Baghdad on Friday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4899904/ Old Iraqi army reborn in Fallujah...Deal represents significant gamble for U.S. (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4919114/ Public opposition to the war in Iraq is at an all-time high - and support for President Bush's handling of the broader war against terrorism is at an all-time low - after the deadliest month for U.S. troops and revelations about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American forces. (Knight Ridder) http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/breaking_news/8607135.htm U.S. Faces Lasting Damage Abroad...Moral High Ground Lost, Experts Say (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7139-2004May6.html President Bush opened a tour by bus through two Midwestern states he narrowly lost during the 2000 election, carrying a message Friday of job gains amid an economic upswing he contends has been sparked by lower taxes. (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4924533/ President Bush's campaign on Friday criticized the wife of Democratic candidate John Kerry for calling Vice President Dick Cheney "unpatriotic" while defending her husband's service in Vietnam against critics who had avoided the military. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040507/D82DQ02O0.html John F. Kerry yesterday called for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in US custody. He also criticized President Bush for not knowing about the abuse until last week and for delaying an apology to the Arab world. (Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/05/07/kerry_says_rumsfeld_should_resign_over_iraq_inmate_abuse/ Democrat says Bush war doomed...A key House Democrat said yesterday the way President Bush is pursuing the war in Iraq makes it "unwinnable," drawing a stern rebuke from Republicans who said Democrats essentially declared victory for terrorists. (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040506-115327-4519r.htm Ad assails Cardinal for stance on communion...Some say antiabortion group's tactics may backfire (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4919118/ Opinion/Editorial Wall Street Journal: Blood in the Water...The target isn't Rumsfeld today, it's Bush in November. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110005047 Curry: Will Rumsfeld survive abuse scandal?...Congress doesn't have a lot of goodwill left for defense chief http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4916525/ Ilana: Lawrence of Arabia: Lionized liar http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38382 Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) Why we're in Iraq: http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/opinion/8609339.htm Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/ ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. 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