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NEWS ABOUT: Bush administration

Karl Rove: I Wasn't Bush's Brain

Adviser rejects nickname as political dirty trick

(Newser) - Karl Rove dismisses the notion that he was George W. Bush's "brain" as the oldest political trick in the book. “If you really want to diminish a candidate, depict him as the foil of his handler," he tells Matt Lauer of Today . “I’ve known him... More »

Karl Rove: Poor Handling of Iraq War Was My Fault

In memoir, Bush aide regrets not defending war to public harder

(AP) - Karl Rove says in a new memoir that the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq badly damaged the Bush administration's credibility and led to dwindling public support for the war. The former White House political adviser blames himself for not pushing back against claims that President Bush... More »

Bush Enjoys Cheney's Attacks

Ex-president says he won't personally make trouble for Obama

(Newser) - George W. Bush today offered his first public endorsement of Dick Cheney’s repeated attacks on President Obama. “I’m glad Cheney is out there,” Bush declared at a reunion breakfast for administration alumni. But he said he would personally continue avoiding the spotlight. “I didn't like... More »

Yoo: I Defended 'Torture Memos' for Obama's Sake

Bush lawyer says he was fighting to preserve executive power

(Newser) - The Bush administration lawyer who authored memos blessing harsh interrogation techniques and warrantless wiretaps says he's been defending himself in order to help...President Obama. The president "may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency," by winning a fight "to protect his... More »

Judge Gives Bernard Kerik 4 Years in Jail

Term for former NYPD chief is harsher than prosecutors sought

(Newser) - A federal judge sentenced disgraced NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik to four years in prison today, berating him for trying to exploit 9/11. The sentence was harsher than the 27 to 33 months the prosecutor had recommended in Kerik’s plea bargain, in which he admitted to eight charges, including lying... More »

Obama Is Acting Like a One-Term President

He refuses to move to the center, writes Noonan, when that could save him

(Newser) - Obama seems to genuinely mean it when he says he'd rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president, and that could explain a lot, writes Peggy Noonan. He "equates becoming more centrist with becoming more like George W. Bush," which is why he's refusing... More »

Look Who Says Bush Was Right on Terror

Obama invokes Bush policies as defense in Couric interview

(Newser) - President Obama rolled out a surprising line of defense when Katie Couric quizzed him about civilian trials for terrorists in an interview Sunday, writes William McGurn. "We're not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11," Obama insisted. Invoking Bush... More »

Obama's Tone Deaf on Terror

'President is ignoring citizen security fears'

(Newser) - The Obama administration's policy on captured terrorists seems like it's aimed more at pleasing America's critics than making Americans feel safer, writes Richard Cohen. Blunders like trying to hold the KSM trial in New York and giving the "underwear bomber" suspect his Miranda rights show that the administration is... More »

Ethics Report Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo

John Yoo and Jay Bybee accused only of 'poor judgment'

(Newser) - Good news for the Bush lawyers who provided the legal rationale for waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics: An upcoming Justice Department report clears them of serious misconduct charges, reports Newsweek . The report's final reviewer softened an earlier version that accused John Yoo, now a law professor, and Jay Bybee,... More »

Blair Tells Iraq Inquiry He'd Do It Again

At the time, existence of WMDs in Iraq was 'beyond doubt'

(Newser) - Tony Blair mounted a spirited defense of Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war today, telling the Chilcot inquiry he would make the same choices now, based on the information he had then. “The crucial thing after Sept. 11 is that the calculus of risk changed,” the former... More »

'Shameless' Karl Rove Wrong on Budget

White House honcho blasts defense of Bush

(Newser) - David Axelrod is amazed by the “sheer audacity and shamelessness” of Karl Rove’s claims about rampant spending under the Obama administration. The former Bush aide predicted last week that congressional Democrats “will run up more debt by October than Bush did in 8 years.” That would... More »

Giuliani Forgets When 9/11 Happened

'We had no domestic attacks under Bush,' Giuliani says. Except...

(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani has some advice about terrorism for President Obama: Follow George W. Bush's example, because “we had no domestic attacks under Bush.” Dubbing American's Mayor "Mr. 9/11," Talking Points Memo points out that Sept. 11, 2001 was well into Bush’s tenure. As was shoe... More »

Obama on Terror: New Style, Same Strategy

Bush insiders approve of new prez; stay mum to avoid Cheney

(Newser) - Barack Obama faced his first terror threat before he was even sworn in. There was strong evidence suggesting that a terror cell intended to attack his inauguration, so Obama and his team worked tirelessly on the issue with George W. Bush’s outgoing team. It was a surprisingly smooth collaboration,... More »

Shut It, Cheney: White House

'Bellicose rhetoric' about war failed before, fails now: Pfeiffer

(Newser) - Dick Cheney’s “bellicose rhetoric” and “clearly untrue” claims following the Christmas terror attempt aren't sitting well at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and the new administration isn't shy about telling the ex-veep off. Echoing the sentiment—and the words, even—of a “senior Democrat” yesterday in Politico , Communications... More »

Army Historians Fault Early Afghan War Strategy

Forces were undermanned, and planning was shoddy

(Newser) - The US missed out on chances to stabilize Afghanistan early in the war because it devoted too few troops and too little planning to the conflict, write Army historians in an official chronicle of the conflict. "It should have become clear” in late 2003 “that the coalition presence... More »

Lawyers for Yemeni Detainees at Gitmo Doubt Release

Recent terror activity, GOP outrage may complicate closure

(Newser) - Strong talk from GOP leaders and former Bush officials, and the emergence of al-Qaeda links in Yemen have lawyers for Yemeni detainees at Gitmo pessimistic about releases that seemed certain just recently. “I feel like my two clients who left in mid-December have gotten the last train out,”... More »

Cheney: Obama 'Won't Admit We're at War'

President is too soft on terrorism, says former VP

(Newser) - Dick Cheney is steamed at what he perceives as President Obama’s downplaying of the Christmas air terrorism attempt. The US is “at war and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe,” he tells Politico , becoming the latest Republican to take up the... More »

The Lowest Points of the 'Decade of the Oligarchs'

Bush put US on path to banana republic status

(Newser) - The 2000s were dominated by George W. Bush and the new American oligarchy he represents, writes Juan Cole. He lists hit 10 lowest points of an awful decade:
  • “The constitutional coup of 2000,” in which “ugly racial and other low tricks” and a “far right-wing Supreme
... More »

Tora Bora Among 'Greatest Military Blunders'

US had him pinned but held back on troops

(Newser) - Peter Berg has assembled what he calls the “definitive account” of "one of the greatest military blunders in recent US history"—the failure to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in 2001 at Tora Bora in Afghanistan. The operation started out well enough, he writes in the... More »

B+? Obama Must Be Joking

Prez deserves his failing grade from the public, writes Karl Rove

(Newser) - President Obama has the lowest approval ratings of any postwar president at the end of year one, and he's done plenty to earn them, writes Karl Rove. Poor policies at home and abroad have helped send his ratings downward, as has the increasingly blatant slipperiness of the president's words. These... More »

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