Bush Caves On Iraq Benchmarks

(NEWSER) - With Congress and the president now officially at war over Iraq, all parties scrambled yesterday to gear up for the coming firefight. The President promised to veto the spending bill with troop withdrawal deadlines attached, seeming to relish the fight ahead. Tthe newly aggressive and unified Democrats, notes the New York Times, seemed surprised at their own success at pushing for an exit strategy after years of wishy-washiness. More»

War without taxes defies all of US history. Why are we allowing it?

(NEWSER) - As Congress tackles the latest "emergency" spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total to more than $860 billion, Ruth Marcus notes in the Washington Post: "For the first time in American history, every penny of that amount will have been borrowed. For the first time, billions more will have been borrowed to finance tax cuts in the midst of war." More»

Eavesdropping measure expires at midnight

(NEWSER) - With a law that expands the government's power to eavesdrop due to expire at midnight, President Bush scolded Congress today for sitting idly by and allowing it to happen. Bush said Congress' failure to act could cause the US to “lose a vital lead that could prevent an attack,” the AP reports. Democrats accused Bush of "whipping up false fears." More»

Government met only half of its benchmarks

(NEWSER) - Iraq has made "satisfactory" progress on only half of its 18 benchmarks for success, the White House told Congress today, hours after President Bush said the country’s advancements merited a strong US military presence there. Since the July progress report, only one benchmark—reintegrating Baathists into the government—has been upgraded from unsatisfactory to satisfactory, the AP reports. More»

Anti-war mom will run against Pelosi

(NEWSER) - Antiwar mom Cindy Sheehan was arrested yesterday after overstaying her welcome in Rep. John Conyer's office on Capitol Hill. She was there to urge Conyers to impeach President Bush over his conduct of the war in Iraq, and to announce that she will run for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco seat because Pelosi has declined to launch impeachment proceedings. More»