Health care plans of the two presidential candidates

McClatchy News has a helpful article comparing McCain's and Obama's health care plans.

The Kaiser Family Foundation compares the two plans side to side.

Afghanistan

This is a MUST READ on the War in Afghanistan. Not often do you hear people say, "the US military needs to do for Afghanistan what it has done in Iraq," but in this case, with recent and important successes in certain areas of Iraq, the statement is spot on. Rather than just clearing and leaving, the US needs to HOLD and BUILD. There are at least two problems: 1) the length of time it will take; and 2) the US has to leave SOMEday. What then?

Chavez

Great article on Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez. NYTimes.

The bottom

Interesting site on 10 worst presidents: US News & World Report.

FDR

The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope by Jonathan Alter

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great introduction to FDR's efforts at responding to the Great Depression upon his entrance into the presidency. Sometimes a bit too much psychoanalyzing, but there should be no doubt that FDR was the great president of the 20th century, not necessarily for finding a domestic economic cure for the Great Depression, but for helping millions of suffering people and giving them hope. His leadership of WWII would take care of the rest, but that's for another book. Great description of FDR's pre-presidential career and his political talents, and Alter gives appropriate credit to Louis Howe for much of FDR's success.


View all my reviews.

Obama kicks off presidential general election campaign in Northern Virginia

Proving that Virginia is actually in play this year in the race to the White House, newly crowned Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama launched his campaign in Virginia. This should make things exciting for the state.
Washington Post coverage.

Iraq WMDs and al Qaeda connections

From the NYTimes:

A long-delayed Senate committee report endorsed by Democrats and some Republicans concluded that President Bush and his aides built the public case for war against Iraq by exaggerating available intelligence and by ignoring disagreements among spy agencies about Iraq’s weapons programs and Saddam Hussein’s links to Al Qaeda.

The Report: regarding public statements; and regarding intelligence activities.

Iraqi policing

Great article on attempts to establish a NATIONAL Iraqi police force, and why it is probably necessary. From Newsweek.

Droning on and on

Fascinating article from Newsweek about UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and their impact on war. Go here.

UPDATE: The NYTimes also has an interesting article on UAVs, with some discussion on the never ending competition among the different services over controlling them.

Massachusetts and health care

ne of the interesting concepts in America is its federal system. We don't always need to see how other countries do things in order to come up with ideas. Since the states in the US retain a lot of power and flexibility, they often provide useful data on different approaches to society's problems. Here's an example: Massachusetts is trying a different health care approach. Interesting early signs of successes and problems. See the NYTimes.

Iraq Stuff

May 2008 was a strong month for American efforts - and hopes - in Iraq.

Washington Post editorial (Iraqi Upturn), which raises some useful points about how Senator Obama will campaign on the issue of Iraq. Though he is for getting out of Iraq over a period of time, recent success should cause him to think some more on it. We shall see.

New York Times offers a fantastic overview on Iraq and the month of May.

Tons more reading suggestions from Small Wars Journal.

Super Id, Super Freak?

I haven't read this one yet, but Vanity Fair's Todd S. Purdum has what looks like an interesting article on former President Bill Clinton. The President has taken a lot of heat for things he has said on the campaign trail for his wife, but he is still the only twice elected Democratic president since FDR.

Al Qaeda and Jihad

Two incredibly long and interesting articles on al Qaeda and Jihad:
1) From the New Yorker, and written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright, is a fascinating account of the possible tearing apart of leading figures in al Qaeda. We probably cannot hold our collectives breaths hoping for some quick turn, but it's interesting to note that people in the Middle Eastern Muslim world are asking a LOT of questions - and fighting amongst themselves.
2) From the New York Review of Books, and author Ahmed Rashid, is an interesting review of a bunch of books about Jihad.

Some good news in Iraq

NYTimes about northern Iraq:

For the past several months, American and Iraqi forces have been slowly applying pressure on the city. The operation, named Lion’s Roar, began officially on May 10. In it, the Iraqis have relied on significant American military assistance, after similar and tentatively successful assaults in Basra and Sadr City.

American tanks have formed cordons while Iraqi soldiers have searched house to house. Forts built and operated by Americans in western Mosul also greatly helped to stem the car bombings that had plagued this city. The Iraqis, though, drew up the arrest lists and conducted the parleys. To soothe ethnic tensions, a Sunni Arab general oversaw the operation.

In all, 83 percent of the military action had a majority of Iraqi troops participating.

American military statistics show that significant acts of violence, including roadside bombings, sniper shootings, and mortar and rocket grenade attacks, fell from 195 in the week before the operation to 93 in the week after it, according to Lt. Col. Eric R. Price, the chief American adviser to General Hussein.

The WaPo on Basra in southern Iraq. More freedoms noticed there, but then there's this gem:

On this day, Zaki embraced the forbidden. He walked to an organ and played "Listen to Your Heart" by the 1980s Swedish pop band Roxette.

Not for nothin', but there's worse things in the world than living in a country that forbids the playing of Roxette songs.

The WaPo on Sadr City. Some real progress there - so far of course.

A little over two weeks ago, U.S. troops in Sadr City were on the front lines of fierce, unrelenting urban warfare. But virtually overnight, their main mission has become one of rebuilding portions of the vast, tattered Shiite district and building trust in neighborhoods where many residents despise Americans.