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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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We'll do the Cheney warning story tonight as you might imagine...Calls are still out
on the matter...We got Luntz for sure on the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll
http://msnbc.com/news/754401.asp
You can take the poll yourself and compare your answers to other folks
http://msnbc.com/news/754799.asp
We'll do a hit with Michael Hirsh on his latest Newsweek piece: What Went Wrong...The
inside story of the missed signals and intelligence failures that raise a chilling
question: did September 11 have to happen? http://www.msnbc.com/news/753689.asp
In the D block debate segment we'll do congressmen Weiner and Dreier on whether there
should be a congressional commission or an independent commission to look into
9-11...WashPost: Strife hampers congressional probe...The congressional panel
authorized and funded to investigate the performance of intelligence agencies leading
to the Sept. 11 attacks has been racked with internal strife, partisan politics and
disagreements over its ultimate goal.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/754554.asp
The buzz will be Doris and Gergen on the same topic...As you know, there was an
independent commission to investigate Pearl Harbor but there was a congressional
investigation into Iran-Contra...What's the historical background here?...Plus, we'll
do Cheney's comments last Thursday blasting Dems who would criticize the
President...Is it unpatriotic to criticize our Commander-in-Chief during a time of war?
The Briefing is compiled and edited by Dominic Bellone in Washington, DC
Howard: 'I Sniff Some Politics'...Bitter about the capital storm, Bush needs to get
over his anger and give up his love of secrecy and surprise
http://www.msnbc.com/news/754330.asp
A U.S. Special Forces soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan during a skirmish with
forces believed linked to al-Qaida and the deposed Taliban militia, military officials
said Monday. (AP)
http://nandotimes.com/special_reports/terrorism/story/407131p-3246094c.html
Cheney Warns of Future Attacks...Vice President Cheney starkly laid out the
administration's fear about another terrorist attack Sunday. He warned that a strike
is "almost certain" and said it "could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, it
could happen next year." (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42549-2002May19.html?referer=email
"In my opinion the prospects of a future attack against the US are almost certain.
It's not a matter of if, but when," Mr Cheney said. "It could happen tomorrow, it
could happen next week, it could happen next year. They will keep trying and we have
to be prepared." (London Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/bush/story/0,7369,718759,00.html
Al-Qaida said to plan new operations...Two published reports and Bush administration
officials said Saturday that the al-Qaida terrorist network is planning a new strike
against the United States.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/754110.asp
The FBI asked the CIA to check on the backgrounds of Middle Eastern men taking flight
lessons in Arizona months before Sept. 11 and were told the men had no direct
connection to terrorists, senior government officials said Sunday. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/05/20/usat-fbi-cia.htm
Cheney rejects independent terror probe...Vice President Richard B. Cheney yesterday
rebuffed demands for an independent commission to investigate intelligence failures
before September 11. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020520-8503392.htm
Gephardt backtracks on criticism...House Minority Leader Gephardt had suggested that
President Bush had failed to act on warnings that might have prevented the September
11 attacks. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020520-23109758.htm
Cheney defends response to warnings...Responding to criticism that the Bush
administration ignored warning signs last summer, Vice President Dick Cheney said
Sunday the United States could not have anticipated that terrorists would turn four
commercial airliners into missiles on Sept. 11.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/752980.asp
Brownstein: Outsiders May Have the Best Seats to Spot Pre-9/11 Failures
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-052002outlook-column.column
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright lashed out at President Bush and his
foreign policy advisers for having a "split personality" on several global conflicts,
including the war in Afghanistan (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020520/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/albright_bush_4
Giuliani defends response to clues...Rudolph W. Giuliani defended the Bush
administration's handling of intelligence information before September 11. (AP)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020520-80781432.htm
Gertz: Chinese and European arms exporters were hit with U.S. economic sanctions for
selling cruise missile and chemical weapons goods to Iran, The Washington Times has
learned. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020520-3664095.htm
A suicide bombing Sunday in Israel led Bush administration officials to renew demands
that Yasser Arafat rein in Palestinian militants, though they acknowledged Arafat
cannot control all of them. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20020520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_mideast_10
The Israel Defense Forces were preparing for military action in the West Bank last
night after three Israelis were killed and 56 wounded in a suicide bombing in Netanya.
(Ha'aretz)
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=165663&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper said it had obtained a previously unseen video of
Osama bin Laden, including footage of the Saudi-born militant that his supporters said
was filmed just two months ago. (Reuters)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=2&cid=578&u=/nm/20020519/ts_nm/britain_binladen_dc_2
President Bush today will demand that Cuba release all political prisoners and hold
free elections before his administration will consider lifting the 42-year-old
economic embargo against the Communist regime. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020520-86311046.htm
Slobodan Milosevic served as best man at the wedding of a fellow detainee in the
detention unit of the United Nations war crimes tribunal, a tribunal spokesman said on
Sunday. (Reuters)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=573&e=1&u=/nm/20020519/od_nm/milosevic_dc_1
A Sunday visit to Houston by U.S. Sen. James Jeffords, whose exit from the Republican
Party gave Democrats control of the Senate, sparked protest from local conservatives
who labeled him a traitor and a coward. (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/politics/1417630
On the Way to the Fundraiser...Stopovers Let Bush Charge Taxpayers for Political Trips
(The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42530-2002May19.html
Democrats Think Shift to Domestic Agenda Will Benefit Them, But Republicans Contend
National Security Still Tops Voters' Priorities
Less than seven months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Democrats believe
voters' attention has shifted markedly back to domestic priorities, while Republicans
argue that voters view national security as essential heading into the midterm
elections (Roll Call) http://www.rollcall.com/pages/politics/00/2002/05/pol0520a.html
Harper: Is it payback time? For three days, peevish print and broadcast journalists
have made mischief against the White House, determined to build one hazy news item
into a blockbuster case against President Bush.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020518-16826525.htm
Kurtz: Straight Man...George W. Bush's message is that everything's under control in a
tightly disciplined White House that knows how to keep a secret. Ari Fleischer is the
messenger http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17191-2002May14.html
McCaslin: Who better than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman
of the Senate's subcommittee on Public Health, to convene hearings this week on the
nation's "obesity epidemic"? http://www.washtimes.com/national/inbeltway.htm
While Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) acknowledged that he is giving
serious thought to retirement in 2004, in an interview last week he sought to cool
growing speculation that the nation's top Democrat may have an eye on the door rather
than the presidency. (Roll Call)
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/05/news0520b.html
Hollywood Shakes Off Fear of Terror Images...Is America ready to find terrorism
entertaining again (LA Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-000035687may20.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dnation
First lady Laura Bush on Sunday placed a bouquet of lilies at the cemetery of an 18th
century fortress the Nazis turned into a concentration camp. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&ncid=703&e=6&u=/ap/20020520/ap_on_re_eu/laura_bush_34
opinion/editorial
The imperial ex-president
Jimmy Carter can't seem to come to grips with the fact that he is no longer in the
White House, writes Chris Suellentrop in Slate.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/753635.asp
Kondracke: Moneyman McAuliffe May Be Democrats' Nut-and-Bolts Savior...The
conventional wisdom is that campaign finance reform will dramatically weaken the
political parties, but Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe is
retooling his party to fight the trend.
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/columns/kondracke/
The Wall Street Journal: Terror Warnings and Politics...How about preventing the next
intelligence failure? http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110001732
Nobles & Knaves: http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20020518-9707762.htm
Safire: The Williams Memo http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/20/opinion/20SAFI.html
Miniter: Sept. 11's Echoes of 1969...Clinton's disrespect for the military helped
embolden Osama. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110001730
Oliphant: As the unconnected dots of information about attacks on Americans before
last Sept. 11 multiply (and there will be more), the blame should not be pointed at
the Democrats and journalists and even some Republicans asking reasonable questions
about those dots.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/139/oped/A_game_of_politics_with_war_on_terror+.shtml
Novak: Ungrateful FBI fires back
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak20.html
Hentoff: A Book Unfit for 'The New York Times'
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0221/hentoff.php
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/viewdb.cfm?uc_full_date=20020520
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
Steiner http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/steiner.htm
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