US Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Democrats accused President Bush on Saturday of fanning terrorism fears shamelessly as he was about to lose certain authority to wiretap foreign suspects without a court warrant.

Bush, for his part, flailed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives for what he called putting U.S. security at risk for political motives in an election year.

Oh it's been so long hasn't it? Bill Maher hasn't been able to do "New Rules" during the writers strike for obvious reasons.

This week, on his February 15th show, Maher had some really great zingers. For one, does anyone remember Mitt Romney's justification for his sons not enlisting, despite his calls for a "surge of support" for the troops.

Iran argued its case last month before an anti-money laundering watchdog that is urging Tehran to close loopholes in its financial system and limit terrorist financing, a US official said Friday.

Daniel Glaser, a senior US Treasury official who deals with terrorist financing, took part in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "meeting in Paris about a month ago," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told AFP.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House on April 16 during his first visit to the United States as pontiff.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the president and the pope would continue discussions they began during Bush's trip to the Vatican in June 2007 on the importance of faith and reason in reaching shared goals.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Friday that "our country is in more danger of an attack" because of Congress' failure to extend a law that makes it easier for the government to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.

Despite a soaring foreign oil bill and another record deficit with China, the overall U.S. trade deficit declined in 2007 after setting records for five consecutive years.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the deficit dropped to $711.6 billion last year, a decline of 6.2 percent. The trade deficit with China continued to rise, jumping by 10.2 percent to $256.3 billion. That was the largest gap ever recorded with a single country, as Chinese imports surged despite a string of high-profile recalls of tainted products.

Syria plans to sue the U.S. for supplying arms to Israel that later killed Syrians in its 2006 war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, the Syrian foreign minister said Thursday, a day after Washington announced new sanctions against Damascus.

"This time I tell you we will punish the United States ... there are scores of Syrians who became victims during the Israeli war against Lebanon, they will file lawsuits against America" for providing Israel with weapons, he said.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The U.S. has recently shared sensitive information with the International Atomic Energy Agency on key aspects of Iran's nuclear program that Washington says shows Tehran was directly engaged in trying to make an atomic weapon, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The House of Representatives voted Thursday to cite Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff, and Harriet E. Miers, a former White House counsel, for contempt for refusing to testify about their participation in the firing of federal prosecutors.

You may recall that Wednesday, despite threats by Bush that he would veto the bill, the Senate passed a bill that would outlaw waterboarding by the CIA. The bill would extend the limitations in the Army Field Manual to the CIA.

What may have gone unnoticed is that Senator John McCain, who has in the past opposed harsh interrogation tactics, voted against the bill.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush travels this week to Africa, one of the few regions where he can claim globally recognized successes for efforts on AIDS and development in a foreign policy legacy dominated by the Iraq war.

"Generally Bush is viewed positively in Africa, as is the U.S.," said J. Anthony Holmes, director of the Africa program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Democratic-led Congress defied a White House veto threat on Wednesday and voted to ban the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If government rebate checks ranging from $300 to $1,200 for just about every household don't spur a consumer spending spree strong enough to cure what ails the economy, Congress is ready to throw more money at the problem. Skeptical economists and a worried public question whether the rebates for more than 130 million Americans and tax breaks for businesses will be quick enough or effective enough to avert a recession, though analysts generally believe the $168 billion economic rescue package President Bush planned to sign Wednesday could help prevent the current downturn from ballooning into a crisis.

MUNICH, Germany — Colonel Graham is heading back to Iraq, where he will wear cammies, pack a Beretta and snap off salutes left and right.

This week, for the third time in 10 months, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will don a military uniform and go to Iraq as an ID card-carrying member of the U.S. armed forces. The Air Force Reservist is the only sitting member of the Senate to deploy to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday said he would oppose another temporary extension of a law empowering U.S. spy agencies to track communications of terrorism suspects without a court order and pressed Congress for a long-term fix.

"It's time for Congress to ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted," Bush told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. "It is time for Congress to pass a law that provides a long-term foundation to protect our country and they must do so immediately."

Democrats say they're happy to let McCain be the pro-war candidate while their two candidates lay out plans for bringing the troops home.

With Senate Democrats capitulating on a critical intelligence bill and another major Iraq report coming from Army Gen. David Petraeus next month, Republicans on Capitol Hill are poised to exploit one issue Arizona Sen. John McCain can use to unify his party and possibly attract some swing voters: national security.

In a BBC interview which aired Tuesday on Radio 4's Law in Action, Judge Antonin Scalia defended torture, saying that the Constitution may not ban torture of detainees.

The military’s surge in Iraq “is clearly working,” but many hurdles remain on the path to the stability that was the strategy’s ultimate goal, while al-Qaida in Iraq “remains a potent force,” according to the senior Defense Department official responsible for Middle East policy.

“We are finishing up what I consider to be the first phase of the surge,” retired Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2008 – The proposed fiscal 2009 defense budget will enable the department to continue resourcing troops on the front lines fighting terrorism while also ensuring the military’s readiness to confront other challenges, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England told a Senate committee today.

President Bush has asked Congress for $515.4 billion for the fiscal 2009 base budget, plus another $70 billion in emergency “bridge” funding to cover war costs into the next calendar year.

In a stunning turn of events, a high-level Muslim military aide blamed for costing an intelligence contractor his job will step down from his own Pentagon post, WND has learned.

Islam and Coughlin recently quarreled over intelligence briefings Coughlin presented showing a close connection between the religion of Islam and terrorism. Coughlin's contract with the Joint Chiefs, which ends in March, was not renewed.