Author Archives: Team VCS

Domestic spying issue likely to dominate politics in 2006

Posted on January 9, 2006 by Team VCS

One week into the new year, we are already mired in an acrimonious debate over whether George W. Bush – who vows to continue his warrantless domestic spying program – is crafting an imperial presidency unfettered by constitutional checks and … Continue reading →

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The Real Choice in Iraq

Posted on January 9, 2006 by Team VCS

The administration’s rhetorical devolution speaks for itself. Yet, with some luck and with a more open decision-making process in the White House, greater political courage on the part of Democratic leaders and even some encouragement from authentic Iraqi leaders, the … Continue reading →

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Bush defies Congress in filling defense, foreign policy posts

Posted on January 8, 2006 by Team VCS

US President George W. Bush has defied Congress again by placing a slew of controversial political allies in key national security and foreign policy posts, circumventing the requisite approval process in the Senate. Bush resorted to the same recess appointment … Continue reading →

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The Cost of the War

Posted on January 7, 2006 by Team VCS

    Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard budget expert Linda Bilmes plan to present this week a paper estimating the cost of the Iraq War at between $1-2 trillion. This is far higher than earlier estimates of $100-200 billion.     Here … Continue reading →

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Reclaiming the Red, White and Blue For All Americans

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Team VCS

Like Betsy Ross, I sew American flags. But I do my work for 55 cents an hour in an assembly line inside the Central California Women’s Facility, one of the largest women’s prisons in the world. I was sentenced to … Continue reading →

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Bush’s War on Professionals

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Team VCS

New ranges of secret government are emerging from the fog of war. The latest disclosure, by the New York Times, of domestic surveillance by the National Security Agency performed by evasion of the special Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court surfaces a … Continue reading →

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Adding fuel to Iraq’s fire

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Team VCS

Iraq’s oil minister losing his job is just one symptom of an industry plagued by underproduction, insurgent attacks, skyrocketing fuel costs and labor problems at refineries. The outgoing Iraqi government placed Minister for Oil Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum on mandatory administrative … Continue reading →

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America’s waning clout in Iraq

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Team VCS

As the weight of the Shiite Islamist victory in Iraq’s election is still being calculated, US influence in the country – in reconstruction, security, and politics – is steadily receding. While a diminished US role in Iraqi affairs was inevitable, … Continue reading →

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Files Say Agency Initiated Growth of Spying Effort

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Team VCS

The National Security Agency acted on its own authority, without a formal directive from President Bush, to expand its domestic surveillance operations in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to declassified documents released Tuesday. The N.S.A. operation prompted … Continue reading →

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US General Wants Faster Security Transition in Iraq

Posted on January 4, 2006 by Team VCS

The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says he wants to accelerate the handover of security responsibility in Iraq to the country’s new security forces this year. In an interview with reporters traveling with him in Iraq in … Continue reading →

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