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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (14287)	9/6/2007 9:59:50 AM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224744

True to form:Democrats retreat on war end >politico.com, John Bresnahan and Martin Kady II Sep 5, 2007 Reid is expected to return to the issue of a guaranteed withdrawal date in October when an Iraq supplemental spending bill reaches the Senate floor. In a strategic shift designed to win over Republican critics of the Iraq war, congressional Democrats are backing off demands for a firm withdrawal date for U.S. troops and instead are seeking a new bipartisan deal to end the military campaign. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are calculating that it is futile to continue their months-long campaign to force an immediate end to the war, particularly after Republicans and a few Democrats returned from the summer recess intent on opposing legislation mandating a strict timetable for pulling out U.S. troops. The change is both rhetorical and substantive. Reid and others are increasingly talking of “bipartisan compromise,” while top Democrats are reworking legislation erasing a date certain for ending the military operation. The strategic shift is certain to anger some war critics, but it reflects the reality that Democrats lack the votes to force President Bush’s hand. “We are trying to manage expectations that we can’t end the war today or next week or next month,” said one Democrat involved in the discussions. “We have to make sure everyone understands that.” Said another aide involved in the process: “Despite the months of debate, and all the votes, and all the ads and everything, we have not been able to break the Republicans. They are still with Bush, and that’s the reality here.” The new approach is something of a preemptive strike for Democrats. They anticipate snippets of good news from Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, when the two officials issue their much-anticipated status report to Congress next week. Democrats are also worried that they may be losing their political edge on the war, especially as a few congressional Democrats have publicly noted the signs of progress after returning from trips to Iraq. Reid and other top Senate Democrats will focus, for now, on a revised proposal by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) that calls for the United States to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage, but sets no firm date for having all forces out of Iraq. Designed to attract support from Republican moderates who have so far continued to back Bush’s Iraq policy, the bill sets a “goal” of having the majority of American combat units out of Iraq by early 2008. Levin and Reed had proposed a withdrawal date of April 30, 2008, but Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and Reed are revising their bill.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (14287)	9/6/2007 1:38:24 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 224744

By KATRIN BENNHOLDand MARK LANDLER Published: September 7, 2007 KARLSRUHE , Germany , Sept. 6 — German investigators were searching today for about a dozen more suspects in connection with a foiled terrorist attack on German and American targets by Islamic militants, feeding a heated debate in Germany about whether security services should be given more surveillance powers. The suspects are believed to have provided support to the three main suspects in the plot, according to August Hanning, the deputy interior minister and a former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the B.N.D. The three have been in custody since they were captured in a raid in western Germany on Tuesday. Their arrests were announced on Wednesday. While some of the suspect still at large are believed to l be in Germany, Mr. Hanning said the arrests Tuesday had ended the security threat. “There is no danger coming from this concrete cell,” he told German television station ARD on Thursday. But he also warned that Germany remained a target for Islamic terrorists and in that sense the risk remained high. Security services were “concerned” about what he described as “the order to undertake attacks in Germany,” Mr. Hanning said. Conservative politicians cited the case as evidence that the police should be allowed to screen the computers of terror suspects with the help of secret software delivered to the target by email. Meanwhile, many Social Democrats in the coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel argued that the fact the plot had been discovered and thwarted in the absence of such methods showed that conventional law enforcement was working. Officials declined to be specific about the number of suspects authorities were still trying to track down. Mr. Hanning referred to “about 10” suspects, suggesting that investigators are still not entirely clear abut the size of the cell. Officials at the federal prosecutors office could not immediately be reached for comment. Tuesday’s raid brought to an end months of undercover surveillance during which German agents had monitored the suspects closely. Authorities seized large quantities of hydrogen peroxide, which can be mixed with other chemicals to make explosives, and military-grade detonators. The three men arrested were two German citizens who had converted to Islam and a Turkish resident of Germany. The police and security officials said they attacks they were planning could have been deadlier than those that killed dozens in London and Madrid. Information that surfaced during the investigation, which included monitoring phone calls and tracking suspects’ movements, led the authorities to conclude that among the targets under consideration were the Ramstein Air Base, a crucial transportation hub for the American military, and Frankfurt International Airport. Among the 10 men still at large are some German converts to Islam, some Turkish residents of Germany and also other nationalities, Mr. Hanning said today. According to an official close to the investigation, at least one of the men is Pakistani, another Lebanese and some are stateless. At least one of them left Germany by plane to go to Turkey, but he may since have traveled on by land, the official said. The official declined to be identified because the investigation is still ongoing. For months, Germany has been warning of a likely terrorist attack, and the government has been contemplating tightening surveillance and enforcement tactics that are now looser than elsewhere in Europe, in part because of Germany’s troubled 20th-century history. Although officials spoke with confidence of the attack’s imminence and seriousness, they did not make fully clear the basis of their assertions. Europe has been the site of a number of devastating terrorist plots, but some have turned out later to be less than met the eye when announced. If the announced details hold up under scrutiny, it means that Germany, like Britain, has become a target for sophisticated homegrown terrorism, and the case will fan the debate over the balance between civil liberties and public security. Previous German plots have been far smaller, masterminded by foreigners, or focused outside of Germany, like the 9/11 attacks, which were hatched in Hamburg. 1 2 3 Next Page » Katrin Bennhold reported from Karlsruhe, Germany, and Mark Landler from Frankfurt. Reporting was contributed by Souad Mekhennet from Frankfurt, Nicholas Kulish from Berlin, Rhea Wessel from Oberschledorn and Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt from Washington.