Posts by Matt Corley

Matt Corley is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.

How Bush's Top General Covered Up Torture
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on July 1, 2008 at 8:15 AM.

Former Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Richard Myers quashed legal review of torture techniques.»

In 2002, as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld “was considering the approval of three categories of interrogation techniques for use at Guantánamo,” military officials raised “serious concerns regarding the legality” of the techniques in a series of memos. As a result, Rear Adm. Jane Dalton, the legal counsel to then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers, “began a fresh evaluation of the legality of the interrogation tactics.” But she was soon ordered by Myers to stop the legal review:

But such an analysis threatened to undermine Rumsfeld’s agenda — and that’s when Myers stepped in. Dalton testified that Myers ordered her to stop that review because of a request from Pentagon general counsel William Haynes. Haynes was spearheading Rumsfeld’s efforts to set up a harsh-interrogation program at the Pentagon. “The best of my recollection as to how this occurred is that the chairman called me aside and indicated to me that Mr. Haynes did not want this broad-based review to take place,” Dalton testified. “When I learned that Mr. Haynes did not want that broad-based legal and policy review to take place, then I stood down from the plans.”

Dalton told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month that Myers was “aware” of the concerns about the techniques’ legality when he quashed the review.

McCain Advisor Claimed a Terrorist Attack Would Be a "Big Advantage" for Republican Campaign
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on June 23, 2008 at 3:31 PM.

Earlier today, Fortune released an article on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in which McCain’s chief strategist, Charlie Black, said that another terrorist attack on U.S. soil “would be a big advantage” for McCain. Asked to respond to Black’s quote during a press conference in Fresno, CA, McCain rejected it: “If he said that, and I do not know the context, I strenuously disagree.”

Watch it.

Update: In a statement to TPM, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Black "deeply regrets his comments," adding that they were "inappropriate."

McCain Blogger Once Wrote: Who Cares if Bush Policies Increase Terrorism?
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on June 17, 2008 at 11:45 AM.

In an interview with ABC News's Jake Tapper yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) argued that "we can crack down on threats against the United States" while staying "within the constraints of our Constitution." He added that the Bush administration's approach has "given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment" in countries that say, "Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims."

Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) presidential campaign is now trying to attack Obama over a reference to the first World Trade Center attack in the interview, accusing him of embracing a "mindset" that "contributed to the tragedy of September 11th." On the McCain campaign blog, Michael Goldfarb takes issue with Obama's "gall"; for suggesting that Bush policies have helped "terrorist recruitment."

Obama wants to take us back to the bad old days of going after terrorists with prosecutors rather than predators. And he even has the gall to blame the Bush administration’s methods as having been a boon to terrorist recruitment. With all the international credibility the Clinton administration earned, and the international terrorists they incapacitated, one wonders how bin Laden even recruited 19 men to attack this country on September 11.

This is a curious line of argument coming from Goldfarb. Soon before he was detailed to the McCain campaign, Goldfarb declared on the Weekly Standard blog, "As to whether Bush is a recruiting tool for terrorists," who cares?"

What's more, Bush's policies have actually helped terrorist recruitment. Just today, staunch McCain ally Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) noted during a Senate Armed Services hearing that Abu Ghraib had inspired people to "join al Qaeda in Iraq." [...]

An April 2006 National Intelligence Estimate found that "the Iraq War has become the 'cause celebre' for jihadists" and is shaping "a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives." A McClatchy investigation published today "found that instead of confining terrorists, Guantanamo often produced more of them" by "inspiring a deep hatred of the United States" in "men with no allegiance to radical Islam."

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Romney Flip Flops In His Opinion Of McCain’s Knowledge Of The Economy
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on April 17, 2008 at 7:35 AM.

As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) shifted his attention to pushing his misguided economic policies yesterday, his campaign dispatched former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to blanket the cable news networks as his top economic surrogate.

But Romney may not be the best surrogate for McCain considering that, as CNN’s Campbell Brown pointed out last night, he aggressively hit McCain during the primary for saying that “he doesn’t understand how the economy works“:

ROMNEY: [McCain] doesn’t want to talk about the economy, because frankly, he has pointed out time and again that he doesn’t understand how the economy works. And right now, that’s the biggest issue that voters here in Florida are concerned about, and they want somebody who does understand the economy. And having him time and again say, I don’t understand how the economy works, I’ve got to get a V.P. that will show me how it works, that’s a real problem for him.

In a separate interview with CNN yesterday, Romney tried to offer an explanation for why he now trusts McCain’s knowledge of the economy, saying that McCain “spent over 25 years in Washington, DC” working on “economic policies.”

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Is Petraeus "the Man Most Responsible" for Fallon's Resignation?
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on March 14, 2008 at 6:20 AM.

When Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced CentCom commander Adm. William Fallon’s resignation on Tuesday, he told the press that it was “a cumulative kind of thing,” not “any one issue” that led Fallon to leave his post. According to the New York Times’s Thom Shanker, “premature departure” at least partially “stemmed” from policy disagreements with Gen. David Petraeus, “a favorite of the White House“:

But there was no question that the admiral’s premature departure stemmed from what were perceived to be policy differences with the administration on Iran and Iraq, where his views competed with those of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq, who is a favorite of the White House.

Writing on the Washington Post’s website today, former intelligence analyst William Arkin posits that Petraeus is “the man most responsible for the departure of Fallon” because “the two were at odds on virtually every element of Iraq policy”:

Yesterday, I was hearing from Pentagon officials, high-ranking military officers and close observers of the building that the two were at odds on virtually every element of Iraq policy, which of course put Fallon on a collision course with the White House. In other words, Iran was the excuse but Iraq was the reason.

Arkin says Fallon believed “that the surge should [be] brought to a quick and successful conclusion.” But Petraeus had the White House, and “Fallon, despite his command and authority to set priorities and decide on what resources are needed, was frozen out.”

Most recently, the two top commanders disputed the length and purpose of the upcoming “pause” in troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer. Fallon thought it should be “temporary and brief” while Petraeus wants “to wait until as late as September to decide when to bring home more troops.”

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McCain Camp Co-Chair Indicted on Fraud, Extortion and Money Laundering Charges
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on February 22, 2008 at 6:12 PM.

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) "has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to a land deal in Arizona," according to the Associated Press. Renzi and two former business partners are accused "of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government."

Renzi, who is one of CREW's 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress, has been under investigation by the FBI since 2006. At the heart of the investigation was a land deal worth more than $4 million that Renzi brokered for his former business partner, James Sandlin:

In 2005, mining company Resolution Copper sought to mine for copper in Superior, Arizona. Before mining could commence however, Resolution needed Congress to approve a land swap.

Rep. Renzi agreed to support the land exchange bill if, as part of the swap, Resolution bought a 480 acre alfalfa field in his hometown owned by Mr. Sandlin. When Resolution Copper refused the deal, Rep. Renzi solicited the Petrified Forest Group to purchase the land for $4 million. Rep. Renzi assured the group that he would make sure that the swap got through the Natural Resources Committee.

Around the same time, Sandlin made a $200,000 payment to a wine company owned by Renzi. The payment was never noted on Renzi's 2005 financial disclosure forms for the House.

In April 2007, the FBI raided an insurance business tied to Renzi, which led Renzi to resign from his committee seats and eventually announce that he would not seek another term in office.

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New McCain Rips Old McCain's Argument That Bush Tax Cuts Only Benefit Wealthy
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on February 18, 2008 at 8:33 AM.

On ABC's This Week today, host George Stephanopoulos asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about Democratic proposals to protect "middle-income Americans" and "only raise" taxes "on the wealthy." In response, McCain bristled at Stephanopoulos's distinction, mockingly warning against rhetoric that talks about "who the, quote, 'wealthy' are in America":

MCCAIN: But more importantly, we'll argue about whether we should increase your taxes or decrease them. Obviously, I'm for decreases in taxes. Maybe Americans want their taxes increased. We'll argue about...

STEPHANOPOULOS: ... for middle-income Americans, only raise them on the wealthy?

MCCAIN: Oh, yes, sure, the wealthy, the wealthy. Always be interested in when people talk about who the, quote, "wealthy" are in America. I find it interesting.

Now that he has to court the hardline anti-tax factions of the conservative movement, McCain is changing his story on tax policy. In 2000, 2001, and 2003, McCain was one of the people "interested" in talking about "who the, quote, 'wealthy' are in America" when he argued against Bush's tax cuts that "mostly benefit the wealthy":

"There's one big difference between me and the others-I won't take every last dime of the surplus and spend it on tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy." [McCain campaign commercial, January 2000]

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Rep. Wexler Confronts Condoleezza Rice on Bush Administration's 935 Iraq War Lies
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on February 14, 2008 at 12:06 PM.

Last month, the Center for Public Integrity and the Fund for Independence in Journalism released a study finding that the Bush administration made "at least 935 false statements" preceding the invasion of Iraq. Condoleezza Rice, who served as National Security Adviser at the time, made 56 false statements.

During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) pressed Rice to explain the inconsistencies, asking "isn't it true that you had intelligence that cast doubt on your repeated claims?" "No, it's not true," replied Rice tersely.

Wexler then pointed out that Rice was lying when she said it was "not true" and that there had been "intelligence that cast doubt" on the administration's pre-war claims:

WEXLER: I simply asked if you had intelligence that was contrary to the intelligence that you reported repeatedly to the American people...

RICE: Congressman, I would...

WEXLER: ... that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction.

RICE: Congressman, I would suggest that you go back and read the key judgments of 2002. I think that will answer your question.

WEXLER: Yes. And the answer to the question, Madam Secretary, is that, in fact, there were contrary reports. You chose to weigh the reports.

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Five More Advertisers Abandon Michael Savage’s Hate-Filled Radio Show
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on February 12, 2008 at 5:11 AM.

In November 2007, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) kicked off a campaign urging "radio listeners of all faiths to contact companies that advertise on Michael Savage's nationally-syndicated radio program to express their concerns" about the conservative radio host's anti-minority tirades. Since then, Brave New Films and a coalition of interfaith leaders have joined CAIR in the campaign under the banner of Hate Hurts America.

Savage responded to the campaign by suing CAIR for copyright infringement and Fox News rose to his defense. But the advertisers have been paying attention to the Hate Hurts America initiative. On Friday, the group announced that five more advertisers have dropped "The Savage Nation":

The Hate Hurts America Community and Interfaith Coalition (HHA) today announced that five more radio advertisers have joined a growing list of companies that have stopped advertising or refuse to place their ads on Michael Savage's "Savage Nation" radio program.

HHA said the advertisers - ITT Technical Institute, Chattem, Inc. (owners of Gold Bond, Icy Hot, and Selsun Blue), Union Bank of California, Intuit (parent company of TurboTax and QuickBooks), and GEICO Insurance - dropped their commercials after being contacted by visitors to the newly-created "No Savage" website.

According to CAIR, "US Cellular, Sprint Nextel, Sears, Universal Orlando Resorts, AutoZone, Citrix, TrustedID, JCPenney, OfficeMax, Wal-Mart, and AT&T" have also stopped advertising on Savage's show. Brave New Films has a list of contact info for advertisers who are continuing to advertise with Savage.

Here are a few examples of the hate Savage has spewed over the years:

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Fox Host Gibson Defends Cracking Sick Jokes About Heath Ledger's Death
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on January 24, 2008 at 3:08 PM.

On his radio show yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson responded to ThinkProgress' criticism of his comments mocking the death of Heath Ledger, saying that it was just "a little Brokeback Mountain joke" and there is "no point in passing up a good joke."

Without offering any sort of apology, Gibson defended his callous comments by claiming that "for months and months and months," his show has consistently made fun of the line, "I wish I knew how to quit you" from Brokeback Mountain. "I'm not giving that up," exclaimed Gibson:

GIBSON: How many months did we live off that line, Brokeback Mountain?

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN CLIP: I wish I knew how to quit you.

ANGRY RICH: Several.

GIBSON: I mean, it was going on for months and months and months.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN CLIP: Wooee, yeah!

GIBSON: I'm not giving that up.

On MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning, host Joe Scarborough described the homophobic undertones of Gibson's "little Brokeback Mountain joke," calling it "mean-spirited and hateful" that "if you make a movie about being gay, your death becomes a punchline."

When Gibson's sidekick, Angry Rich, read him a negative comment left by a ThinkProgress reader (which the site does not endorse) calling the Fox News host "a closet homosexual," Gibson responded by laughing and quipping "well, I'm still breathing":

ANGRY RICH: You're "a closet homosexual." That's the first one.

GIBSON: Oh, I am?

ANGRY RICH: Apparently.

GIBSON: Ha ha ha, well I'm still breathing. There's the difference right there.

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Fox News Host Gibson Cracks a Series of Tasteless Jokes About Heath Ledger's Death
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on January 23, 2008 at 4:04 PM.

Opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson callously mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger, calling him a "weirdo" with a "serious drug problem."

Playing an audio clip of the iconic quote, "I wish I knew how to quit you" from Ledger's gay romance movie Brokeback Mountain, Gibson disdainfully quipped, "Well, he found out how to quit you." Laughing, Gibson then played another clip from Brokeback Mountain in which Ledger said, "We're dead," followed by his own, mocking "We're dead" before playing the clip again.

Throughout the course of the show, Gibson continued to bring up Ledger's death while discussing current events, jokingly claiming that current events may have caused him to commit suicide.

On yesterday's drop in the stock market:

GIBSON: Maybe he had a serious position in the market.

TOM SULLIVAN: And possibly today, he looked at the window and said...

GIBSON: "Oh my God."

SULLIVAN: His name's not Keith Bledger, right?

GIBSON: He was depressed about yesterday's downturn in the world stock markets.

On the Democratic debate in South Carolina:

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Pentagon Report on Iraq War: 1 In 5 Vets Have "Traumatic Brain Injuries"
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on January 21, 2008 at 7:33 AM.

On the Chris Matthews Show yesterday morning, Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel discussed a new Pentagon report that says "1 in 5 American servicemen and women who have been in Iraq are coming back with brain injuries." Stengel called it the "real toll" of the war, adding that "the legacy of that will last all of our lifetimes and it's incalculable."

In total, according to Stengel, "more than 250,000 people" are affected by "mild traumatic brain injuries" sustained in Iraq. Watch it to your right.

According to the Pentagon, some of the soldiers who sustained concussions "do not realize they need treatment." Additionally, they may be sent back to the war zone:

The task force praised work done at Fort Carson, Colo., where soldiers going back to war are screened for brain injury. Surveys there found that about 17 percent of the soldiers returning to war could have a traumatic brain injury.

As recently as 2006, the Pentagon was " refusing to release data on how many soldiers have suffered brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan," arguing that "disclosing the results would put the lives of those fighting at risk."

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