Day: January 19, 2007

Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, said Friday that some of the extra troops that President Bush ordered to Baghdad could begin leaving by late summer if conditions allow. “I think it’s probably going to be the summer, late summer, before you get to the point where people in Baghdad feel safe in their neighborhoods,” Casey told reporters at a news conference with visiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Asked how long the 21,500 extra U.S. troops are likely to be kept in Iraq, Casey replied, “I believe the projections are, late summer.”

Former Rep. Bob Ney was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison for his role in a congressional bribery scandal.

Ney, the first congressman ensnared in the case, pleaded guilty to trading official favors for golf trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said that Ney would serve his time at a federal prison in Morgantown, West Virginia.

“Hi. I’m Art Buchwald and I just died,” the humorist announces jovially in a video he made for his New York Times obituary.

Actually, he didn’t “just” die. He had been at it since last February, when he went off dialysis and checked himself into a hospice. But the expected death didn’t come and his hospice room became a salon, with Buchwald receiving and entertaining his huge circle of Washington acquaintances.

If George W. Bush really wants to strike a blow for justice he should pardon I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby now before his prosecution costs the taxpayers one dime more. It is really time to put an end to one of the most bizarre and disruptive politically inspired cases in recent memory.

Lawmakers demanded President George W. Bush win approval from Congress before using military force against Iran, even as officials again denied that any attacks are on the cards.

Legislation calling on President George W. Bush to obtain congressional backing before any military strike against Iran was put to the US House of Representatives as Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the Middle East seeking to line up support against Tehran.

Former Rep. Bob Ney, who resigned in October after pleading guilty to corruption charges, faces more than two years in prison for his role in a congressional bribery scandal.

The Ohio Republican, the first congressman ensnared in the case, has admitted trading political action for golf trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The Senate, responding to voter frustration with corruption and special interest influence in Washington, on Thursday overwhelmingly approved far-reaching ethics and lobbying reform legislation.

Under the bill, passed 96-2, senators will give up gifts and free travel from lobbyists, pay more for travel on corporate jets and make themselves more accountable for the pet projects they insert into bills.

Democrats congratulated themselves Thursday as they led the House of Representatives to pass the last of their six priority bills well within a self-imposed deadline of the first 100 legislative hours.

“We have delivered on the promise,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “We have demonstrated that the Congress of the United States is not a place where good ideas and the optimism of the American people go to die.”

Lawmakers from both parties criticized senior Pentagon officials Thursday for using emergency spending bills to fund the Iraq war, which they said should have predictable costs by now.

Democrats and Republicans at a House Budget Committee hearing also questioned the Iraq war’s rising price tag, saying they face increased pressure from constituents to justify congressional support for the conflict.