CALIFORNIA YANKEE

About That Memo

The Weekly Standard has published another article about the Feith memo.

The editors say that the mainstream media’s failure to run with the Feith memo is a “simple case of media bias.” The editors aren’t surprised by bias among the mainstream media. They state they rarely complain about it, since we take it for granted.

The Weekly Standard editors complain about the administration’s failure to use the memo revelation as an opportunity to substantiate the links between Osama and Saddam:

They produce a memo for the Senate Intelligence Committee laying out the connections between They produce a memo for the Senate Intelligence Committee laying out the connections between Osama and Saddam. We obtain the memo, and make public those parts that don't endanger intelligence sources and methods. But now the administration--continuing a pattern of the last several months--shies away from an opportunity to substantiate its own case before the American people and the world.

The editors quote the introduction to part of the Feith memo, called "Summary of Body of Intelligence Reporting on Iraq-al Qaeda Contacts (1990-2003)."

Some individuals have argued that the al Qaeda ties to Iraq have not been "proven." The requirement for certainty misses the point. Intelligence assessments are not about prosecutorial proof. They do not require juridical evidence to support them nor the legal standards that are needed in law enforcement. Intelligence assessments examine trends, patterns, capabilities, and intentions. By these criteria, the substantial body of intelligence reporting--for over a decade, from a variety of sources--reflects a pattern of Iraqi support for al Qaeda's activities. The covert nature of the relationship has made it difficult to know the full extent of that support. Al Qaeda's operational security and Iraq's need to cloak its activities have precluded a full appreciation of the relationship. Nonetheless, the following reports clearly indicate that Osama bin Laden did cooperate with Iraq's secular regime despite differences in ideology and religious beliefs in order to advance al Qaeda's objectives and to defeat a common enemy--the U.S.

The editors then pose a number of questions they think the administration should answer about the alleged links between Iraq and alQaeda, including:

Is there in fact "credible reporting" about Iraqi training of al Qaeda in "the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs"?

Is there corroborating evidence for the reports detailed in the memo of 1998-1999 meetings between al Qaeda and Iraqi intelligence in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

What is the "fragmentary evidence" of Iraqi involvement in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, and possible Iraqi involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center attack?

Read About That Memo.

I have been following this story for the last two weeks in these posts. While media bias may be taken for granted, it doesn’t make sense that the media would fail to examine in infinite detail a secret Pentagon memo to the Senate Intelligence Committee detailing, in 50 bullet points and over 16 pages, the relationship between Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

Oh Deer

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a female college student was awakened by tapping on her bedroom window. When she heard the crashing sounds of a break-in, the 21 year old hid under her blanket. After the noises stopped, thinking the burglar had left her room, she peeked out from under the blanket to grab a phone. That’s when she saw the deer staring at her.

The Associated Press reports that she called the police anyway. The responding officers managed to lead the deer outside. The deer was turned over to a humane society. That’s how they deal with intruding deer in Crookston, Minn.

In White Plains New York, a different approach is used. Last month the Journal News reported that a 300 pound deer chased a woman through a downtown street. The deer, pursued by police, tried to escape into a hair salon. The police corned the deer in the salon, shot it with a taser and tied it up with a curling iron cord. The arrested deer was to be taken to a humane society, but “expired.”

Bush Visit Criticised

It is very disappointing that some are criticizing President Bush’s Thanksgiving Day trip to visit the troops in Iraq.

The description in the Chicago Sun-Times was typical of most of the press coverage, calling President Bush’s Thanksgiving Day visit to troops in Iraq audacious.

A lot of words are being used to describe President Bush's surprise trip to the Iraqi war zone. "Shock and awe" was the cliche immediately employed when the visit was revealed. But the word we think best sums it up is audacious, one encompassing the daring, inventive, unconventional and, yes, fearless nature of Bush's gesture.

It's hard for the Bush detractors to swallow, but the man has a visceral connection with military personnel. They genuinely like him, and he returns the favor. Even his opening line, one worthy of Bob Hope -- "I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," -- hit just the right note in a way perhaps hard to explain intellectually but perfectly comprehensible at a gut level. His assertion that he and the troops share an oath to protect America resonated with the assembled men and women.

The Adam Nagourney article in the New York Times views the trip as nothing more than an attempt to gain political advantage. Nagourney reports these negative quotes from three of the democratic presidential candidates. A spokesman for Howard Dean said:

"It's nice that he made it over there today, but this visit won't change the fact that those brave men and women should never have been fighting in Iraq in the first place."

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts issued a statement saying that the trip was

"the right thing to do for our country." But, he added: "When Thanksgiving is over, I hope the president will take the time to correct his failed policy in Iraq that has placed our soldiers in a shooting gallery."

An adviser to Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, described the visit as a "daring move and great politics," but added:

"I think these kids need more. I'm sure they were buoyed by his coming, but they need more."

This Laura MacInnis article, published by Reuters calls the trip “Thanksgiving political theater.”

The reaction of the troops is all I need to convince me that the trip was a fine tribute to the troops from their commander in chief.

Even those who say they are not fans of President Bush, such as Ed Thibodeau of Nonplussed, were “totally impressed” by The Presidents’s "totally cool" surprise Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad.

President Bush Visits Iraq

President Bush flew into Baghdad today aboard Air Force One to celebrate Thanksgiving with a group of astonished American troops and U.S. officials.

The Associared Press reports that the troops were surprised:

With the president out of sight, L. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. civilian administrator, told the soldiers it was time to read the president's Thanksgiving proclamation and that it was a task for the most senior official present.

"Is there anybody back there more senior than us?" he asked. That was the cue for Bush, who promptly stepped forward from behind a curtain, setting off pandemonium among the troops.

"I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere," he joked. "Thanks for inviting me. I can't think of finer folks to have Thanksgiving dinner with than you all."

While here, President Bush stood in a chow line and dished out sweet potatoes and corn for Thanksgiving dinner and posed with a platter of a fresh-baked turkey. The President spoke with soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 82nd Airborne Division at an airport mess hall, telling them:

"You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq so we don't have to face them in our own country."

The trip, the first ever to Iraq by an American president, was an extraordinary gesture. The International Herald Tribune reports that presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, appearing on CNN, called it "a perfectly executed plan" that would be "one of the major moments in his biography." It would have provided "an incredible thrill" for the Americans.

President Bush slipped out of Crawford on Wednesday in an unmarked car, then flew to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. He then flew on to Baghdad International Airport, arriving around dusk.

The trip must have raised enormous concerns for the president's security team. A DHL cargo plane using the same airport Saturday was struck in the wing by a shoulder-fired , forcing it to make an emergency landing.

UPDATE: The text of President Bush's remarks to the troops in Iraq is available here. You should read the whole thing.

Playing Both Sides

The Associated Press reports that a Detroit police sergeant has been charged with robbing 13 banks.

Prosecutors said the sergeant acted as a lookout or getaway driver in 13 robberies in the Detroit area last year.

Thanks to FindLaw for the tip.

Sound Hits Space Station

Reuters is reporting that earlier today the International Space Station crew reported hearing a noise causing fear that something struck the outside of the station.

Astronaut Mike Foale told NASA's Mission Control:

It sounded like a metal tin can kind of being expanded and compressed. It was a noise that lasted about a second. It sounded like an impact or something.

Russian astronaut, Alexander Kaleri, also heard the sound as the astronauts were finishing breakfast.

A video camera on the station's 57-foot-long robot arm was used to scan the external section where the sound came from, but saw no damage.

Most Overpaid Jobs

CBS MarketWatch lists the 10 most overpaid jobs in the U.S:

10) Wedding photographers - Photographers earn a average of $1,900 for a wedding.
9) Major airline pilots - Senior captains earn as much as $250,000.
8) West Coast longshoremen - West Coast dockworkers will earn an average of $112,000.
7) Skycaps at major airports - At the busiest metro airports pull in $70,000 to $100,000 a year plus tips.
6) Real estate agents selling high-end homes - In affluent areas can pull down $200,000-plus.
5) Motivational speakers and ex-politicians on the lecture circuit - Bill Clinton earned $9.5 million for 60 speeches last year.
4) Orthodontists - Orthodontists earn a median $350,000.
3) CEOs of poorly performing companies - These long-time losers draw multimillion-dollar severance packages as a reward for their failed stewardship.
2) Washed-up pro athletes in long-term contracts - Those who sign long-term contracts after a few strong years and then find their talents vanish reap unconscionable sums of money.
1) Mutual-fund managers - Stock-fund managers can easily earn $500,000 to $1 million a year including bonuses.

Making an Iraq-Al Qaeda Link

The LA Times, unable to decide whether there Feith memo makes the case for an Iraq-Al Qaeda link, published two commentaries today about the memo.

One, “Making an Iraq-Al Qaeda Link” is by Stephen F. Hayes, the author of the Case Closed article. That article started the renewed debate about Iraq-Al Qaeda collaboration which I have been following in these posts.

Hayes writes in the LA Times that there is now evidence demonstrating that those who are dismissive of the allegations of Iraq-Al Qaeda collaboration are wrong. Hayes relies on a number of quotes from the Feith memo in support of the argument that there was cooperation between Iraq-Al Qaeda. Three quotes concern explosive and weapons training Iraq provided to Al Qaeda:

"An Iraqi intelligence officer said that as of mid-March, the Iraqi Intelligence Service was providing weapons to Al Qaeda members located at a training camp in northern Iraq, including rocket-propelled grenade (RPG-18) launchers."

"Bin Laden was receiving training on bomb making from the [Iraqi Intelligence Service's] principal technical expert on making sophisticated explosives, Brigadier Salim al-Ahmed. Brigadier Salim was observed at Bin Laden's farm in Khartoum [Sudan] in Sept.-Oct. 1995 and again in July 1996."

Referring to information from an interview with former deputy director of Iraqi intelligence: "He said that in a 1994 meeting with Bin Laden in the Sudan, Bin Laden had requested that Iraq assist Al Qaeda with the procurement of an unspecified number of Chinese-manufactured anti-ship limpet mines … Bin Laden also requested the establishment of Al Qaeda training camps inside Iraq."

Hayes concludes by warning that those clinging to the conventional wisdom that there were no connections between Al Qaeda and Iraq do themselves and the country a disservice by ignoring the relationship between Hussein and Bin Laden, two of America's most dangerous and determined enemies.

The other, commentary “'Evidence' for Link Is Administration Ploy,” is by Christopher Scheer. Scheer asserts that the Weekly Standard’s publishing extensive excerpts of a leaked of the Feth memo is nothing more than an attempt to “retroactively defend the debunked claims that Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden had meaningful ties.”

Maybe because I have strongly supported the liberation of Iraq, but Scheer’s article strikes me as nothing more than another antiwar rant.

Scheer’s one rational point is that raw intelligence shouldn't be divulged publicly because it is riddled with unverifiable hearsay. I say those of us who are untrained in intelligence analysis just aren’t competent to judge it. This is why I continue to beg the mainstream media to use their contacts to do some serious investigative reporting evaluating the Feith memo. Opinion pieces won’t resolve the issue.

Even Faster

Today, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 8.2% in the third quarter. This is even better than the 7.2% estimated last month.

One of the key factors causing the upward revision was the 18.4 percent growth rate in investment by business on new equipment and software.

There was more good economic news today. Consumer confidence registered another solid gain in November. According to the Conference Board:

Consumer confidence is now at its highest level since the Fall of 2002. The improvement in the Present Situation Index, especially in the jobs component, suggests that consumers believe a slow but sure labor market turnaround is underway.

All the stimulus provided by the tax cuts, low interest rates and the deficit are finally having an impact.

Safire Joins the Missing Links Fray

William Safire has joined in the effort to bring attention to the story of the Saddam-bin Laden connection.

Referring to the Feith memo disclosed in the Weekly Standard’s Case Closed article, which I have posted about here, Safire writes:

The Defense Department acknowledged the Oct. 27 letter included a classified annex of "raw reports or products" of U.S. intelligence agencies on "the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," cautioning that it "drew no conclusions." But with so much connective tissue exposed — some the result of "custodial interviews" of prisoners — the burden of proof has shifted to those still grimly in denial.

Focusing on the allegations that the Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta met with the former Iraqi intelligence chief in Prague, al Ani, on several occasions, Safire writes about Edward Jay Epstein’s article in Slate, which I posted about here. Safire raises a number of questions concerning the alleged contact between Att and al Ani.

Since July, al-Ani has been in U.S. Department of Justice custody and I wonder how effectively he is being interrogated. Have we learned the whereabouts of his Prague and Baghdad aides and secretaries, and taken their testimony? Have we asked M.I.5 to let us speak to Jabir Salim, his Prague station-chief predecessor, who defected to Britain and may know which employees and which banks could transfer $100,000 to an account accessible to Atta?

Did al-Ani order any payment to "the student from Hamburg" or his co-conspirators, as Czech intelligence believes, and did the paymaster carry out the order? To what superior in Baghdad did al-Ani report, and who worked most closely with him, and are they in custody and do their stories jibe? What have we offered al-Ani, in protection or immunity or plea bargain, to turn state's evidence?

Safire thinks that “journalists will ultimately bring the full story of the Saddam-bin Laden connection to light.” I hope he is right. So far the mainstream media is doing a great job of downplaying a very important story.

UPDATE: Captain’s Quarters, has been posting daily about the Feith memo. In today’s post he also applauds Safire for joining this fray. Check out the entire challenge series which begins here.