Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Bolton's Backer The Bush administration's decision to nominate John Bolton to the U.N. ambassadorship has many observers puzzled. Doesn't the choice seem to run counter to the theme of reconciliation and cooperation sounded by new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice? Well, it's no suprise who the power behind the decision was: Vice President Dick Cheney pressed for Bolton's appointment to the UN, according to Washington sources - a fact that has some observers highlighting both the vice president's continuing influential role in foreign affairs, and the continuing influence of the foreign policy establishment's neoconservative wing. So much for reconciliation and cooperation. 11:15:41 PM    comment [] Wag the Dog The Moonie UPI reports that an ex-Marine is claiming the whole "Saddam captured in spider hole" story is fake: Ex-Sgt. Nadim Abou Rabeh, of Lebanese descent, was quoted in the Saudi daily al-Medina Wednesday as saying Saddam was actually captured Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, and not the day after, as announced by the U.S. Army. "I was among the 20-man unit, including eight of Arab descent, who searched for Saddam for three days in the area of Dour near Tikrit, and we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced," Abou Rabeh said. "We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed," he said. He said Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from the window of a room on the second floor. Then they shouted at him in Arabic: "You have to surrender. ... There is no point in resisting." "Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam's capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well," Abou Rabeh said. Abou Rabeh was interviewed in Lebanon. Frankly, I'm very skeptical of this story, but with this administration, anything is possible. [Via Daily Kos] 11:01:19 PM    comment [] This Modern World: Who is the bald dude? There has been speculation in the past about who Tom Tomorrow's bearded liberal douche is supposed to represent. Eric Alterman has perhaps been the most popular guess. But what about another recurring character in the strip: bald white corporate asshole (pictured with bearded liberal douche here but making perhaps his best appearance, in several different forms, here)? Who is Tom Tomorrow's inspiration? Is it ... (A) Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman (B) Treasury Secretary John Snow (C) Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte (D) Vice President Dick Cheney (E) Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (F) Former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay (G) Other (Please offer suggestions in comments) (H) An amalgam of all of the above? Inquiring minds want to know. 4:14:07 PM    comment [] The Right Man Lefty bed-wetters who have complained about the nomination of John Bolton to the U.N. ambassadorship should take heart in the words of the honorable Jesse Helms: John Bolton is the kind of man with whom I would want to stand at Armageddon, if it should be my lot to be on hand for what is forecast to be the final battle between good and evil in this world. Since Armageddon is nigh and Revelations tells us that the Anti-Christ will arise in the United Nations (if not the European Union, as Jack Van Impe hypothesizes), I can't think of a better man for the job. 3:31:29 PM    comment []

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