by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning’s most interesting or important (or both) Washington-related stories.
The Democratic presidential candidates went after each other on the Iraq War, with John Edwards, the former senator, accusing both senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama of not leading the opposition to the war and criticizing the quiet manner in which they recently voted against funding the war. Obama, who opposed the war before it started, struck back, saying Edwards, who voted for the war, was 4-1/2 years late to the opposition.
More Top Picks Knife Set
U.S. commanders in Iraq said they control less than a third of Baghdad’s neighborhoods, far short of its goals at this point for the Iraq security surge. That failure stems in part from the Iraqi security forces not being provided at the levels that were expected and the poor performance of the Iraqi troops that have deployed.
At least 16 U.S. service members were killed since the start of June with most of the deaths resulting from roadside bombs as insurgents have adapted their strategies to maintain their lethality.
Democratic lawmakers are planning a series of Iraq votes over the summer meant to place increasing pressure on their Republican counterparts to split with President Bush by fall. Meanwhile, antiwar groups intend to raise the heat on vulnerable Republican lawmakers in their districts.
Iraqis working with Americans in the war-torn nation, amid the debate in the U.S. over troop withdrawals, are beseeching their employers to take them out of Iraq out of fear they would face bloody reprisals if they were to remain in to country.
Supporters of the immigration-reform bill now before the Senate were more optimistic about the legislation’s chances as Congress’s Memorial Day recess period ended, saying criticism from constituents had died down noticeably. But numerous threats to the bill remained as amendments to significantly change the legislation were expected to be offered.
The current fight over immigration reform is in part a battle over how the bottom-line is defined, with critics saying it will wind up being a net drain on the U.S economy while critics say it will be a net plus. For instance, one economist says providing legal status to immigrants here illegally will be more expensive to the economy since legal immigrants get more government benefits.
Law-enforcement authorities were alarmed by how far the ringleader of alleged John F. Kennedy International Airport plot was able to get despite being a moneyless social outcast. Meanwhile, it was disclosed that the case relies heavily a paid FBI informant with drug convictions who was angling for a lighter sentence.
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor has made his business career a major argument for why he should be president. But his career as head of the private-equity firm also makes him vulnerable in part because that firm purchased companies, then laid off workers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the eve of the G-8 Summit, threatened to retarget some of his nation’s nuclear arsenal on European cities if the Bush Administration goes forward with its plan to deploy a missile-defense shield in Europe.