------------------------------------------------------
The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
------------------------------------------------------
With just a little more than five days to go until Iraqis vote for their first
constitutionally elected government, Hardball resumes tonight our weeklong
focus on the debate over ending the war with a line-up that's sure to put the
exclamation point on a great week of reports.
But before getting into the debate over ending the war, Chris will break down
new information on how we got into the war with NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs
Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Hotline Editor-in-Chief Chuck Todd, and Stephen
Hayes of the Weekly Standard. In today's New York Times, reporter Douglas Jehl
wrote that the "Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties
between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in
Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh
treatment, according to current and former government officials." Here's Jehl's
article in case you missed it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/politics/09intel.html?pagewanted=print.
NBC military analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret.) will give his assessment of
ways to end the war, the situation on the ground, and the differences between
the plans advocated by President Bush and Rep. John Murtha (D-PA). Check out
what McCaffrey, a member of Hardblogger's War Council, had to say this week on
the president's Annapolis speech: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086/.
And read fellow Hardblogger War Council member Lt. Colonel Rick Francona
(Ret.)'s thoughts on withdrawal and the insurgency here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10284912/#051208c.
Also on tonight's show, NBC's Senior Investigative Correspondent Lisa Myers
will join Chris to give a sneak preview of her upcoming MSNBC special called
"On the Trail of Terror: Jihad in Iraq," which airs this Sunday at 9:00 pm
eastern. Find out more about it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10382594/.
And speaking of specials, also this Sunday night on MSNBC is our own Hardball
special report called "Unraveling the CIA Leak Case," airing at 7:00 and 11:00
pm eastern. Hardball's David Shuster will have a preview of that on tonight's
show and the latest on what's going on with Special Prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald's investigation into reported discrepancies between the testimonies
of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Time reporter Viveca Novak.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--AP finds upward movement in the president's poll numbers
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10399472/
--Hardblogger All-Star Chip Reid sees Congress all around him
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10284912/#051208b
--AP hears another former associate of lobbyist Jack Abramoff might cut a deal
soon http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10399956/
--MSNBC's Tom Curry ponders whether Democrats will offer voters a clear Iraq
choice http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10366278/
--AP reports on the Red Cross' renewed demand to see terror detainees
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10397336/
--Newsweek's Isikoff and Hosenball explore the issues surrounding European
concerns about terror suspects
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10385133/site/newsweek/
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
And be sure to vote for your pick for the Hardball political play of 2005 here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10336995/.
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
=========================================
This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. You have received this The Hardball
Briefing Newsletter newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone
forwarded it to you.
To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this
message was forwarded to you) simply go to
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7140407/, select unsubscribe, enter the email
address receiving this message, and click the Go button.
Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052
MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT
http://privacy.msn.com <http://privacy.msn.com/>
