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War rhetoric, Affirming Obama’s legislative record, Green Zone & Sri Lankan bombings, PPP picking a PM, Silly mud slinging |
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In the rhetoric of war, does talking about troop withdrawal encourage increased attacks? Yesterday, Canada’s top general “warned lawmakers Friday that prolonged debate over the military mission in Afghanistan could be encouraging the Taliban to step up attacks”.
When Obama supporter Kirk Watson appears on MSNBC with Chris Matthews Tuesday evening, he fell victim to Matthews’ condescension and anger when unable to answer a question regarding Obama’s legislative record. Setting the record straight, Bob Geiger at The Agonist offers an answer “to those who question Obama’s ‘legislative accomplishments’.”
A barrage of mortar bombs and rockets hit America’s Green Zone in Baghdad today. According the Reuters, the U.S. military has blamed rogue elements in Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army for the attacks, even after Sadr renewed a 6-month ceasefire.
A bus bombing in Sri Lanka killed 18 today; today’s bombing was one in a series of attacks since the government pulled out of a ceasefire agreement with the Tamil Tiger Rebels in January. In this long drawn-out conflict, correspondents say fighting has led to more than 70,000 deaths since fighting began in 1983.
Will cooperation follow Monday’s parliamentary elections in Pakistan? As the late PM Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and election victors meet to pick their new PM, the need for inter-party cooperation is paramount. Controlling only one third of the total seats, choosing an acceptable candidate for PM is crucial for the proposed coalition government’s success. The question still remains–Can the opposition unite?
Hurling insults at Obama as the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination heats up, Hillary Clinton shot her campaign in the foot by making a grandiose comparison between presidential hopeful Barack Obama and current president Bush. Responding quickly, Obama’s camp pointed out that Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson “once called one Democrat comparing another Democrat to George Bush as ‘the worst kind of tactical political maneuvering’.” Nevermind that America stopped listening to the “inexperienced” criticism months ago, Clinton demonstrates her willingness to undermine the strength of the Dems for the sake of personal gain.
Another week closer to November’s election, are we getting any closer to putting American back on track?
It’s also valuable to note that Obama has spent more time speaking in the 110th Congress than Clinton has, and on more occasions.
So even if the Republicans have been stonewalling legislation, we know at least that Obama’s been more vocal about it.