March 2013
Mar 25, 2013
Martha Raddatz Answers ‘This Week’ Viewer Questions
With Martha Raddatz, ABC News1) Travis Stinger Williams: You are awesome! Do you recognize your own awesomeness?
Raddatz: “I do not consider myself remotely awesome! But my job at ABC News is pretty awesome and so are the people I meet and the places I travel. One of the things I don’t do at home is talk a lot about myself or what I do. Even though my kids are both grown now, I would much rather hear about what they are doing than what I have done. It helps keep me grounded. I suspect you would find me pretty down-to-earth despite all the trappings of TV career! But, your ‘awesome’ comments will secretly make my day! So thanks!”
Read moreU.S. and Afghans Reach Deal on Bagram Prison Transfer
By Mark Mazzetti, The New York TimesAfter months of delays and recriminations by American and Afghan officials, the Pentagon announced Saturday that a deal had been reached to transfer control of Bagram Prison to the Afghan government.
Read moreObamacare Is a Prescription for a Democratic Headache in 2014
By Beth Reinhard and Alex Roarty, National JournalPresident Obama’s health care law—a killer issue in 2010 but an afterthought among voters in 2012—will face another round of attacks in 2014 as its thorniest parts go into effect, potentially supplying Republicans fresh ammunition in their war against "Obamacare" and creating renewed problems for a plethora of vulnerable Democrats.
Read more'Sequester' Causing Pain -- to Congress
By Doyle McManus, Los Angeles TimesThink the automatic budget cuts Congress ordered at the beginning of March — the so-called sequester — haven't caused any pain yet?
Read moreSenate Passes First Budget in Four Years
By Lori Montgomery, Washington PostThe Democrat-controlled Senate approved its first budget blueprint in four years early Saturday, a political milestone that capped months of GOP criticism and set the stage for direct negotiations with the Republican-controlled House.
Read moreGay marriage fight goes to the Supreme Court
With Pete Williams, NBC News Watch moreMar 22, 2013
My Iraq War
By James Kitfield, National JournalMy war began a decade ago on a bluff in Kuwait, on the far-western flank of the U.S. invasion force. Spread out on the desert floor below was the 3rd Infantry Division’s “heavy metal”—tanks and armored fighting vehicles—to spearhead the attack. At dusk on March 20, 2003, the artillery brigade opened up on the nearby Iraqi border posts. Muzzle flashes flickered across the dark desert landscape like lightning in a squall; the distant thunder of impact sounded the approach of an angry giant. The next morning, as we drove past a smoldering checkpoint, the soldier next to me, Maj. Joe Samek, gazed out the window of our Humvee at the losing end of “shock and awe.” “You know,” he said, “this is the first time I’ve been in a foreign country uninvited.”
Read morePentagon May Take Over CIA's Drone Program
With Tom Gjelten and Steve Inskeep, NPRThe Obama administration is taking steps to put the CIA's drone program under Pentagon control. The CIA has been covertly using drones to target and kill suspected terrorists. Putting the program under Pentagon control would make it more transparent and legally restricted.
Listen hereCongress Turns to Domestic Policy After Budget Battles
By Susan Davis and Jackie Kucinich, USA TodayA brief reprieve in the fiscal battles between President Obama and a divided Congress will allow two contentious and politically divisive domestic issues — guns and immigration — to take center stage in the national debate this spring.
Read moreRepublicans Admit They Have Problems, But Can They Fix Them?
By Amy Walter, Cook Political ReportThey say that the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. The RNC, with the release of their 100 page critical examination of their failures in the 2012 election, has taken that big step. More important, the GOP doesn't simply address why they lost in 2012, they also admit that they may continue to lose in the future unless they make some changes.
Read moreHow Not to Woo Republicans
By John Dickerson, Slate Magazine
To woo your enemy, do not drop an ox in his soup. That isn’t an ancient maxim, but the idea behind it is so self-evident, I don't need to find Sun Tzu’s version to know it’s true. When you are trying to build trust with someone who does not trust you, don't give them new reasons not to trust you.
Veteran Iraq War Reporters Reflect 10 Years On
By Ibrahim Balkhy, PBS Newshour
For the journalists covering the Iraq war, the experience was in many ways unlike any other war. If you were part of the invasion -- which began this week 10 years ago -- it often meant being "embedded" with the American military for weeks, with your gas mask never more than an arm's length away.
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