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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Big night as President Bush gives a major speech tonight at the American Enterprise
Institute (for those outside the Beltway, that's one of those think tanks where
scholars, academics and intellectual types draft lenghty "white papers" and such on
pressing public policy questions of the day...website below) outlining a post-Saddam
Iraq and the benefits which will flow from this war, e.g. Democratizing the region and
bringing some peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict...
We'll have a major slice and dice of the speech with a panel of experts to get into
the "big picture" of this war and whether it will have the desired domino effect of
spreading Democracy to other autocratic regimes......News out there include the cost
of war (money: upwards of $100 billion, boots on the ground: up to 100K), Saddam is
now a legitimate target and a kerfuffle is erupting with our Canadians friends north
of the border over a new UN deadline...Details below...Pls join us...
Dornan will do the Buzz with a lefty tbd with more speech reax and Tom Delay's presser
yesterday in which he slammed Howard Dean's anti-war position....
Ari: "If we go to war in Iraq and hostilities result, command and control and top
generals, people who are in charge of fighting the war to kill the United States'
troops, cannot assume that they will be safe..If you go to war, command and control
are legitimate targets under international law."
Mortman Exclusive....
Oh, the peking duck -- although given heightened security measures, perhaps it should
have been peking duct tape. We found good parking and good eating at the Hoover
Institution reception at the Willard Hotel in DC last night. We sampled fine buffet
foods (mini crab cakes, albeit a little too heavy on the frying oil for Extreme
Mortman's taste) at four food stations and to mingle with the elite of the tweedy
conservatives. All the top shelf legends were there -- Ed Meese ... the Bork family
.. Plus strapping young conservative favorites like Clark Judge of the White House
Writers Group... Ken Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors ...
"Hardball" vets Terry Jeffrey and John Fund (both celebrity Briefing subscribers) ...
John O'Sullivan of UPI and NRO (fresh off a "Hardball" taping, which explains his
asking Extreme Mortman where the bar is) ... Vic Matus of the Weekly Standard (where
he is Assistant Managing Editor -- a title, he skillfully, points out, that he shares
with Bob Woodward) ...... White House domestic policy guru and acclaimed intellectual
author Tevi Troy ... and Hoover Institution honcho Tom Henricksen, for whom we thank
for the invite.
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC...
Plus, added bonus for you...Dinner in 50 Minutes
Orange and cumin braised chicken.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64493-2003Feb25.html
"As President Bush leads an international coalition to end Saddam Hussein's tyranny
and support for terror, the Justice Department will see that individuals within our
borders cannot undermine these efforts," said Attorney General John Ashcroft. "Those
who covertly seek to channel money into Iraq under the guise of charitable work will
be caught and prosecuted." (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=716&e=3&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_re_us/charity_arrests
Bush was to give a speech on Iraq later Wednesday at the American Enterprise
Institute, a conservative Washington think tank from which he drew many of his aides.
He was expected to argue that Saddam is a menace to the Iraqi people and that getting
rid of him would make the Middle East - including the volatile Israeli-Palestinian
conflict - more stable. Bush also was to stress the prospects for democracy in a
post-Saddam Iraq and the United States' intention to address humanitarian needs caused
by possible war, said his spokesman, Ari Fleischer (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq
AEI Site http://www.aei.org/
President Bush intends to outline his postwar vision for Iraq and the Middle East in a
speech tonight designed in part to showcase the administration's belief that Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein's overthrow would be a significant step toward broad
democratic change in the Arab world. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2442-2003Feb25.html
The challenge is formidable, but U.S. and British diplomats are confident they can
wring the nine votes necessary to win approval of the new Iraq resolution circulated
Monday on the Security Council. The assessment is backed by other diplomats, although
all agree that France, the most outspoken opponent as of now, could still use its veto
power to kill the measure. (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/876750.asp
Bush Firm on Warning To Iraq...U.S. Would Start War Even Without U.N. Resolution (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2429-2003Feb25.html
Bowing to an intense U.S. diplomatic offensive, Mexico appears to be the first among a
handful of undecided U.N. Security Council members to shift toward the U.S. position
on Iraq. (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/842500.asp
The Bush administration is preparing supplemental spending requests totaling as much
as $95 billion for a war with Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3517-2003Feb26.html
... The long-term expense of occupying and rebuilding Iraq, as well as providing
postwar humanitarian relief to as many as 2 million refugees, would be added to those
costs, resulting in a marked increase in the $300 billion budget deficit the
administration had projected for each of the next two years. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2247-2003Feb25.html
The Army's top general said Tuesday a military occupying force for a postwar Iraq
could total several hundred thousand soldiers. "I would say that what's been mobilized
to this point, something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers," the
general said. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_40
Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said on Wednesday Iraq still had not made a
"fundamental decision" to disarm, despite a recent handover of documents his experts
welcomed. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=Y3W3S0XLJQOLUCRBAEOCFFA?type=topNews&storyID=2293285
Saddam Hussein is being threatened with trial as a war criminal if the United States
goes to war with Iraq. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/us_iraq_46
With most of its energies focused on Iraq, the Bush administration is avoiding the
word ''crisis'' to describe North Korea's escalating nuclear threats. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030226/4898625s.htm
In an impassioned appeal Wednesday, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin warned
that waging war against Iraq now - without exhausting all peaceful means for disarming
Saddam Hussein - would split the international community and "be perceived as
precipitous and illegitimate." (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_re_mi_ea/france_iraq_13
As war threat looms, Americans pay at the pump (CS Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0221/p01s01-usec.html
WashPost: U.S., Saudis agree on cooperation...The United States and Saudi Arabia have
reached new agreements that will allow expanded U.S. air operations from Saudi
territory in the event of war against Iraq, senior U.S. officials and diplomatic
sources said. A Washington Post report.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/877439.asp
Preston Mendenhall: Stark warning for U.S. military...Key Iraqi opposition leader says
long-term presence would be unwelcome http://www.msnbc.com/news/877019.asp
The White House criticized CBS television on Wednesday over what a spokesman said was
a spurned offer to rebut comments by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during an
interview to be broadcast on Wednesday evening. (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2292959
Saddam Hussein could be a military target during war, but President Bush "doesn't
recall" whether he told U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald he would order the Iraqi leader's
assassination if the opportunity arose, Bush's chief spokesman said Tuesday.
(Arlington Daily Herald) http://www.dailyherald.com/main_story.asp?intid=37678125
The White House yesterday said Saddam Hussein is a "legitimate" target for the use of
lethal force in the event of war, which President Bush said can only be averted by the
Iraqi dictator's immediate "full disarmament." (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030226-169528.htm
Old Arab Friends Turn Away From U.S....Policies Toward Iraq and Palestinians Alienate
Pro-American Generation (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2452-2003Feb25.html
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri is labor's guy, a longtime, crucial ally on trade and
about everything else. But whether he is labor's guy for president is less certain.
(AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=703&e=5&u=/ap/20030226/ap_on_re_us/labor_gephardt
Democratic Party leaders' uproarious reaction to a weekend speech by anti-war
presidential candidate Howard Dean shows they are becoming the "appeasement party,"
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said yesterday. (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030226-286739.htm
Breaking ranks...Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, has broken with his party and
will not support the filibuster being waged by his colleagues against President George
W. Bush's nomination of Miguel Estrada to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit. (UPI Capital Comment)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030225-042554-4544r
Local conservatives are taking a page from the anti-war movement by putting out a
television ad supporting American troops and the ouster of Saddam Hussein. (Seattle
Times) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134641609_peacead26m.html
Thousands of opponents of a U.S. war against Iraq called and faxed their senators on
Wednesday, paralyzing the telephone lines of many lawmakers for several hours.
(Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2293353
Singer George Michael, one of the most high profile celebrities to speak out about
Iraq, has urged young pop stars to abandon plans for a new Band Aid-style charity
song. (BBC News) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2800363.stm
My buddy Jeri gets a shout out in the The Memphis Commercial Appeal: But he had been
watching Law & Order for only a few months when he was picked for the role of Branch.
His new wife, media consultant Jeri Kehn, is a fan of the show and turned him away
from his usual television fare of ESPN and old movies.
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/midsouth_news/article/0,1426,MCA_1497_1771418,00.html
Opinion/Editorial
Terry: Rep. John Conyers of Michigan is leading five other representatives in a
lawsuit that will live in the annals of idiocy if not infamy. The six, all Democrats,
have sued President Bush contending he has no constitutional authority to wage war
against Saddam. http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=tje
USA Today: Natural gas woes...Consumers who cringe at the cost of gasoline every time
they fill up their cars are about to get another nasty surprise when they open their
mail.Prices for natural gas, which heats half of U.S.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030226/4898630s.htm
Kaplan: How Many Dead Iraqis?...Guessing about collateral damage.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2079264/
Goldberg: Liberal talk radio? Keep laughing
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah.html
Hitchens: "Drumbeat"...Bush rushing to war? Nonsense. http://slate.msn.com/id/2079082/
Peterson: Huffington turned by the tide
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20030226-2042704.htm
Kelly: Who Would Choose Tyranny? http://jewishworldreview.com/michael/kelly.html
Ilana: Wacko Jacko's child play http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31234
Tony: Unsteady leaders in uncertain times http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/blankley.htm
Steve & Cokie: Take that, you SUV-bashers!
http://jewishworldreview.com/0203/croberts.html
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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