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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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We've talked a lot about the Bush administration laying out the case against Saddam
and for that cutesy phrase "regime change" but tonight we'll look at the other
side...What's Iraq doing diplomatically and militarily to stave off an impending
attack? Yesterday, Iraq's Veep met with Syrian officials and Iraq's foreign minister
met with, get this, the Chinese Vice Premier who said relations between the two
countries were "extremely friendly"...We'll talk to Brookings Institute guy Michael
O'Hanlon and the U. of Maryland's Shibley Telhami...
It used to be "Where in the world is Matt Lauer"? Now it's "Where in the world is
Osama bin Laden"? The New York Times reports today that bin Laden is kicking it (slang
for hanging out) "somewhere on a 250-mile stretch of the border between Afghanistan
and Pakistan."...Also, Iran is said to be harboring some top Al-Qaeda cats...We'll get
into it with Philip Smucker from the Christian Science Monitor (who was over in
Afghanistan during the war) and Yossef of course...
The D block debate will be over the United Nations' World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg...Is Bush right to not send Colin Powell or are these
international conferences simply a platform for anti-American bashing? Arnaud de
Borchgrave of The Center for Strategic and International Studies will join the
debate...
Some of the Real Deal topics include: Did an impeding war with Iraq cause DC to lose
the bid to host the Olympics?...Plus, 'N Sync dude Lance Bass needs $20 million to go
to space and the Ruskies ain't sending him up until he ponies up...
Buzz topics are still up in the air but I'll have the Zinni and Armitage comments re:
Iraq on standby...Tony Blankley of the Washington Times and Jim Warren of the Chicago
Tribune will join us...
And pls do check out our TV homepage...One I'm sure you've never experienced
before...Lots of clickable fun to be had here http://www.tv.msnbc.com
And for more Hardball on the web http://www.hardball.msnbc.com
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from a rainy Washington,
DC...Perhaps the weather is better in Cambridge these days...
Interesting to see Armitage out on Iraq as he is widely considered to be in Powell's
"circumspect camp" on an invasion: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage
said on Wednesday that Washington was confident it could convince skeptical allies to
back military action against Iraq, and would be "moving forward" at the right time.
(Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1380847# My
peeps tell me we got the tape so I'll see if we can cut a sot (sound on tape)...
IOC might harbor resentment toward Washington on political grounds, including talk of
a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq and Congress's 1999 questioning of IOC then-president
Juan Antonio Samaranch and other officials over the Salt Lake City Olympic bribery
scandal. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3616-2002Aug27.html
Zinni on Iraq: "It's pretty interesting that all the generals see it the same
way...and all the others who have never fired a shot and are hot to go to war see it
another way" (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4616-2002Aug27.html
Fudgey Brownies and Chocolate Sorbet (Wash Post food section)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1810-2002Aug27.html
Germany charges Sept. 11 suspect...El Motassadeq suspected of abetting Hamburg terror
cell (AP) http://www.msnbc.com/news/800260.asp
Iraqi Envoys Courting Support in Syria, China...U.S. Allies in Mideast Warn of War on
Hussein (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.com/news/799763.asp
China and Iraq reaffirmed their friendly ties on Wednesday during a visit by Baghdad's
foreign minister, who is looking for support amid tensions with Washington. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020828/ap_on_re_mi_ea/china_iraq_8
Iraq said on Wednesday there was still room for a diplomatic solution to avert war
with the United States, but that Baghdad had to prepare for conflict because
Washington did not want a peaceful solution. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020828/wl_nm/syria_iraq_dc_13
U.S. commanders appear to have concluded that Osama bin Laden is moving among mountain
hideouts along a 250-mile stretch of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, The
New York Times reported on Wednesday. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1381848
WashPost: Iran harboring al Qaeda deputies...Two figures who have assumed critical
roles in the al Qaeda hierarchy in recent months, including one reported dead by the
Pentagon, are being sheltered in Iran along with dozens of other al Qaeda fighters in
hotels and guesthouses in the border cities of
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/800046.asp
Bush confers with Saudi ambassador...Are the Saudis allies or antagonists of the
United States? President Bush's meeting with Saudi Prince Bandar on Tuesday is a
conciliatory gesture that follows a series of flare-ups in U.S.-Saudi relations.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/799725.asp
A tussle over who can legally declare war...Cheney reasserts presidential right to
attack Iraq, without new vote by Congress. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0828/p02s02-usmi.html
Is Saddam Hussein's Iraq an immediate threat to the safety of the United States?
President Bush says yes; Brent Scowcroft, his father's former national security
advisor, says no. (LA Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-fg-usiraq28aug28005046.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Dpolitics%2Dnational
The Bush administration is casting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein as a menace who
cannot be appeased and suggesting that it may not wait for full allied support before
launching an attack. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20020828/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_61
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the United States to resist attacking Iraq,
joining calls from leaders in Germany, China and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for
restraint in considering military action to topple Saddam Hussein. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=515&ncid=716&e=3&u=/ap/20020828/ap_on_re_af/world_us_iraq_1
Sammon: President Bush denounced Saddam during an hourlong meeting with Saudi Arabia's
ambassador yesterday. After the meeting, a Saudi spokesman made clear that the kingdom
had not been swayed from its opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq.
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20020828-24469557.htm
Washington Post primer on Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/front.html
Rich and poor nations argued over scrapping billions of dollars in subsidies to
Western farmers on Wednesday but made some headway at the Earth Summit in other
efforts to help the world's poor. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&ncid=721&e=3&u=/nm/20020828/wl_nm/environment_summit_dc_60
Bush remains popular but his coattails are tucked in...His approval ratings hover in
the historically high mid-60s, but it likely won't help Republicans in fall's
elections. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0828/p02s01-uspo.html
The nation's 10-year budget surplus, projected at $5.6 trillion just 18 months ago,
has all but disappeared because of lagging tax collections and increased spending to
counter terrorism, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020828/4398080s.htm
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a highly unusual move, has decided to
commit nearly a half-million dollars to buy television advertising for Suzanne Haik
Terrell, one of three Republican Senate primary candidates in Louisiana. (The
Washington Times) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020828-94131136.htm
Former Republican congressman Steve Largent easily won his party's nomination for
governor Tuesday, while Democrats Vince Orza and state Sen. Brad Henry appeared headed
to a runoff. (Daily Oklahoma)
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=908902&TP=getelection
Republican Norm Coleman accused liberal Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone yesterday of
running a campaign of "fear and class warfare" to hide "an extreme left" voting record
far outside Minnesota's political mainstream. (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20020828-22306937.htm
Democratic debaters target Gov. Bush...During the only gubernatorial debate before the
Sept. 10 primary, the three Democratic candidates sat at desks, hands folded, and
behaved like obedient schoolchildren. (Miami Herald)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/3951105.htm
Excerpts from Florida' gubernatorial debate:
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/082702/D7LM21480.html
In the race for governor in Massachusetts, the bully card is being tossed
around...Democratic candidate Shannon O'Brien says Republican rival Mitt Romney and
his supporters have crossed the line by associating her with corporate scandal. A
Romney spokesman responded in kind, calling O'Brien "the bully in the race."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=511&ncid=703&e=4&u=/ap/20020828/ap_on_el_gu/massachusetts_governor_2
In a foreshadowing of what may be a future duel for news viewers, NBC's Brian Williams
scored a historic victory over ABC's Peter Jennings last week. (AP)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=529&ncid=529&e=1&u=/ap/20020828/ap_en_tv/nielsens_3
Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) got an early start on the resumption of his acting career
Tuesday as he began taping in New York City for a role in the new season of Law &
Order. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_1351942,00html
It's feast or famine at the Earth Summit. While starving children line up for handouts
in the shantytowns of Johannesburg, South Africa, delegates to the world conference
just blocks away have been pigging out on Kilimanjaros of lobster, oysters and filet
mignon. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/55904.htm
A comedian scheduled to open for Jewish comic Jackie Mason was told hours before the
show he couldn't perform because he is Palestinian, Mason's manager said. (AP)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=529&ncid=529&e=4&u=/ap/20020828/ap_en_ot/comic_canceled_2
Dispatches from the Cultural Wars: Infertility Campaign Can't Get Ad Space
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4287-2002Aug27.html
Kurtz: The Two Sides of President Bush...Is W. the issue in '02? If so, that could cut
both ways. Will it be Bush the commander in chief, toppler of the Taliban, or Bush the
red-ink man, presiding over a weak economy?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5856-2002Aug28.html
Opinion/Editorial
Adelman: Saddam's Terror State...A terrorist nation is a bigger threat than al Qaeda.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002189
Saletan: Cheney vs. Scowcroft...How to duck the arguments against attacking Iraq.
http://slate.msn.com/?id=2070189
Kelly: Secrecy, case by case
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michael/kelly.html
Turley: A secret court goes public
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jonathan/turley.html
Blakley: Logging old-growth is a sham issue...As fires rage, Sierra Club tells tall
tales on logging http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/blankley.htm
Mowbray: Big Labor's Arthur Andersen
http://www.nationalreview.com/mowbray/mowbray082802.asp
Parker: Janet Reno provides cure for insomnia AND capitalism
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/kathleen/parker.html
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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