Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says

Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says
In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

But behind closed doors, the president was certain that war was inevitable. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2003, he made clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, said a confidential memo about the meeting written by Mr. Blair's top foreign policy adviser and reviewed by The New York Times.

Former DeLay aide enriched by nonprofit
A top adviser to former House Whip Tom DeLay received more than a third of all the money collected by the U.S. Family Network, a nonprofit organization the adviser created to promote a pro-family political agenda in Congress, according to the group's accounting records.

The group's revenue was mostly drawn from clients of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to its records. From an FBI subpoena for the records, it can be inferred that the bureau is exploring whether there were links between the payments and favorable legislative treatment of Abramoff's clients by DeLay's office.
GOP Gives Oil Companies Billions
It was after midnight and every lawmaker in the committee room wanted to go home, but there was still time to sweeten a deal encouraging oil and gas companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"There is no cost," declared Representative Joe L. Barton, a Texas Republican who was presiding over Congressional negotiations on the sprawling energy bill last July. An obscure provision on new drilling incentives was "so noncontroversial," he added, that senior House and Senate negotiators had not even discussed it.

But last month, the Bush administration confirmed that it expected the government to waive about $7 billion in royalties over the next five years, even though the industry incentive was expressly conceived of for times when energy prices were low. And that number could quadruple to more than $28 billion if a lawsuit filed last week challenging one of the program's remaining restrictions proves successful.
Morning after in America
PRESIDENT BUSH'S UNEASY relationship with science and policy is about to hurt him as much as it has already hurt American women. For years now the Food and Drug Administration has failed to make the morning-after contraceptive pill, commonly known as Plan B, available over the counter. This despite numerous studies (including ones by the FDA) showing that the medication is effective and as safe as Tylenol. The result? Millions of women have been deprived of easier and cheaper access to an important product. And the agency has seriously damaged its reputation among scientists, Congress and the American public.

Now this inaction is about to claim another avoidable casualty. Bush has nominated Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, who has been the agency's acting commissioner since fall, to keep his job permanently.

But Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington are invoking senatorial privilege to block the nomination until the agency makes a decision on Plan B. In this case, the senators have every right to resort to blackmail. Last summer, they agreed to back the nomination of former FDA Commissioner Lester M. Crawford only after he promised to approve the drug. But the minute he got in office, he balked; then he abruptly resigned two months later.

Posted: Mon - March 27, 2006 at 10:19 AM |