Obama Nears Decision on Sending More Troops to Afghanistan

“This is not going to be an easy sell, especially with the fight over health care and the [Democratic] party’s losses”

- A White House official referring to the challenge facing President Obama in making the case for sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in the middle of health reform negotiations and following Democratic losses in two gubernatorial races last week. Obama reportedly is nearing a decision to send more than 30,000 additional troops next year. (McLatchy)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Pro-Choice Democrats Might Block Health Reform

“There’s going to be a firestorm here. Women are going to realize that a Democratic-controlled House has passed legislation that would prohibit women paying for abortions with their own funds. . . . We’re not going to let this into law.”

- Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.) referring to dismay among abortion-rights supporters over antiabortion provisions inserted into the House health reform bill that passed on Saturday. DeGette said she had collected more than 40 signatures from House Democrats vowing to oppose any final bill that includes the amendment — enough to block passage. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 to the Present by Gail Collins

Iranians Balking at Nuclear Deal

“If you listen to what the Iranians have said publicly and privately over the past week. it’s evident that they simply cannot bring themselves to do the deal.”

- A senior administration official said Sunday. The Obama administration has reportedly told Iran’s leaders in back-channel messages that it is willing to allow the country to send its stockpile of enriched uranium to any of several nations, including Turkey, for temporary safekeeping. But officials say the overtures have all been ignored.

* Related Title: The Inheritance: The World Obama Inherits and the Challenges to American Power by David E. Sanger

Outta Here: Karzai Gets New Term as Abdullah Drops Out

“I hoped there would be a better process. But it is final. I will not participate in the Nov. 7 elections.”

- Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah, who over the weekend withdrew from the scheduled runoff election. President Hamid Karzai remains president by default. Abdullah did not ask Afghans to take to the streets to protest, but he said he could not take part in a runoff that he believed would be at least as fraudulent as the first round in August. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Let Me Try That Again: Clinton Backs Off Praise of Israeli Settlement Offer

“As the president has said on many occasions, the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.”

- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, responding to criticism from Arab nations, following her praise for Israel’s offer to restrain - but not stop - building settlements in Palestinian areas. She qualified her earlier comments by saying while Israel was moving in the right direction, its offer “falls far short” of U.S. expectations. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East by Rashid Khalidi

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Republicans Offer 11th-Hour Health Reform Bill

“What we do is we try to make the current system work better.”

- House Republican Leader John Boehner, announcing that Republicans are preparing an alternative health-care bill to Democratic legislation, marking a shift in strategy as the full House is set to begin debate on the issue this week. (Wall Street Journal)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean with Igor Volsky and Faiz Shakir

Pelosi Unveils House Health Reform Bill

“Today we are about to deliver on the promise of making affordable, quality health care available for all Americans.”

- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, unveiling a health-care reform bill that includes a watered-down public option and a historic expansion of Medicaid. The bill aims to provide health insurance of one form or another to 96 percent of all Americans. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean with Igor Volsky and Faiz Shakir

Obama Beats Defense Lobby Over Pentagon Budget

“They probably get an ‘A’ from the standpoint of their success on their major initiatives. They probably got all of them but one or maybe two, and that’s an extraordinarily high score.”

- Fred Downey, a former Senate aide now with the Aerospace Industries Association. President Obama signed a $680 billion military policy bill on Wednesday, having overcome defense industry opposition to pare back a number of expensive weapons programs. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America by Robert Scheer

Iran Open to IAEA Nuke Plan?

“We welcome cooperation on nuclear fuel, power plants and technology, and we are ready to cooperate.”

- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, commenting on a UN plan to send the country’s uranium abroad for processing. Iran has made an initial response to the United Nations nuclear watchdog but neither the agency nor Iran made the response public. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Massive Bomb in Pakistan as Clinton Visits

“It was a huge bomb blast, heard in almost all the city.”

- Anwar Shah, a police official in Islamabad, Pakistan, where a car bomb ripped through a crowded market in the northwest city of Peshawar hours before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived for talks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. (AFP)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

U.S. Sources Say Karzai’s Brother Working for CIA

“If we are going to conduct a population-centric strategy in Afghanistan, and we are perceived as backing thugs, then we are just undermining ourselves.”

- Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the senior American military intelligence official in Afghanistan, responding to claims, by current and former US officials and reported today in the New York Times, that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years. (New York Times)

* Related Title: Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

Lieberman Will Oppose Even Public Option Lite

“I’m sure he’ll have some interesting things to do in the way of an amendment. But Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid’s problems.”

- Sen. Harry Reid, whose decision to bring to the Senate floor a health-care bill containing a government insurance plan was met with skepticism by moderate Democrats, including independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, who remains opposed to a public option even with an “opt-out” provision for states. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean with Igor Volsky and Faiz Shakir

Health Reform: Reid Backs the Public Option

“I believe that a public option can achieve the goal of bringing meaningful reform to our broken system.”

- Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said yesterday he would include a government-run insurance plan in health care bill that he plans to take to the Senate floor within a few weeks. (New York Times)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean with Igor Volsky and Faiz Shakir

Eight U.S. Solders Killed in Afghanistan Bombings

“A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members.”

- Captain Jane Campbell, a military spokeswoman. A series of large bombs killed eight American soldiers in southern Afghanistan Tuesday morning, making October the deadliest month for US troops in that country since the 2001 invasion. (Times of London)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Americans Downbeat on Economy

“Consumers remain quite pessimistic about their future earnings, a sentiment that will likely constrain spending during the holidays.”

- Lynn Franco, research director at the Conference Board. US consumer confidence fell sharply and unexpectedly in October amid fears about future job prospects. (BBC)

Related Title: The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for American Workers by Stephen Greenhouse

Iran Nuclear Deal Looks Possible

“We look forward to Iran’s reply.”

- National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer. The White House has announced its support for an arrangement to send most of Iran’s uranium outside the country for enrichment, a decision supported by Russia and France. Obama administration officials say the ball is now in Iran’s court to respond to the plan. (Los Angeles Times)

* Related Title: The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power by David E. Sanger

Public Option Gains Momentum in Senate

“There is a growing sense that we need to lead on this issue and not wait for it to be offered on the Senate floor. The idea is that it’s better to show some fight.’’

- A senior Democratic aide commenting on signs the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, is leaning toward including a government-run insurance plan in a health care bill he will soon take to the Senate floor. (New York Times)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean with Igor Volsky and Faiz Shakir

Gates: U.S. Not Wavering on Afghanistan

“We’re not pulling out. I think that any reduction is very unlikely.”

- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that NATO allies are moving toward sending more troops and civilian aid to Afghanistan. Gates also sought to assure allies that the United States will remain in the fight. (Associated Press)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Housing Sales Surge But Problems Persist

“The work of stabilizing the housing market won’t be done. We still need to use every tool at our disposal to fix this problem.”

- Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, speaking during a panel hearing. Sales of existing U.S. homes climbed in September to the highest level in more than two years as homebuyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit before it runs out. (Bloomberg)

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Bernanke Pressures Congress On Financial Reform

“Large, complex financial firms that do not own a bank, but that nonetheless pose risks to the overall financial system, must not be permitted to avoid…oversight.”

- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Friday stepped up pressure on Congress to pass legislation that would give regulators new power to contain a financial crisis. (Washington Post)

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Karzai Agrees to Runoff Election

“I call upon this country to take this as an opportunity to move this country forward and participate in this new round of elections.”

- President Hamid Karzai conceded Tuesday that he fell short of a first-round victory in the nation’s disputed presidential election, and agreed to hold a runoff election with his top challenger on Nov. 7. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Inheritance by David E. Sanger

Feud Intensifies Between Obama Administration and Chamber of Commerce

“The question we have is: Does the Chamber really represent the business community the way they used to? It seems as though their members are disengaging.”

- Valerie Jarrett, the president’s chief business liaison. The White House is has clashed with the Chamber of Comerce over the administration’s effort to overhaul the health-care system. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean

Counting Climate Change Votes in the Senate

“I can see a way to get to 60 votes…if we pull the right folks to the table and do this in the right way. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

- Sen. John Kerry, who recently introduced a climate change bill in the Senate. The number of senators unwilling to commit to voting for comprehensive climate and energy legislation continues to grow. (New York Times)

* Related Title: Fight Global Warming Now by Bill McKibben

Supreme Court to Hear Guantanamo Uighurs Appeal

“It would be hard to overstate the importance of the question presented in this case - to the rule of law and to the public.”

- Lawyers for 13 Chinese Uighurs who have been held without charges at Guantanamo since 2002. The Supreme Court has accepted an appeal by the Uighurs, agreeing to decide whether judges can order their release into the U.S. The appeal is opposed by the Obama administration, which wants them transferred to another country, though it acknowledges they are not enemy combatants. (Bloomberg)

* Related Title: The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

Hopes Fade for a Climate Deal in Copenhagen

“There isn’t sufficient time to get the whole thing done. But I hope it will go well beyond simply a declaration of principles.”

- Yvo De Boer, the Dutch diplomat who heads of the United Nations climate secretariat. It now appears there is little chance that climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December will produce a comprehensive and binding new treaty on global warming. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Global Deal by Nicholas Stern

Karzai Camp Pushing Back on Recount

“The ECC is pretty much controlled by foreigners, and its foreign commissioners intervene in the process.”

- Maeen Mirstyal, a lawmaker and chief adviser to the campaign of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose supporters are protesting “foreign interference” in Afghanistan’s drawn-out election process and suggesting his camp may not accept the official results of a recount by the United Nations-backed Electoral Complaints Commission. (Wall Street Journal)

* Related Title: The Inheritance: The World Obama Inherits and the Challenges to American Power by David E. Sanger

Iranians Say West Complicit in Attack on Republican Guards

“Behind this scene are the American and British intelligence apparatus, and there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them.”

- Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Republican Guards, said Iranian security officials had presented documents indicating “direct ties” from U.S., British, and Pakistani intelligence organizations to Jundollah, a terrorist group that claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed six Guards commanders on Monday. (Reuters)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich

Growing Numbers of Westerners Head to Terror Training Camps

“They’re doing such good business that they are dropping a new video every week or so. If I were a young Muslim, I’d find them very convincing.”

- Ronald Sandee, a former Dutch military intelligence officer who serves as research director of the NEFA Foundation, a U.S. group that monitors terrorist networks. U.S. and European counterterrorism officials say that in response to recruiting videos and other outreach efforts a rising number of Western recruits are traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to attend paramilitary training camps. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: The Infernal Machine: A History of Terrorism by Matthew Carr

Business Interests At Odds Over Climate Change Legislation

“It’s much harder to pass clean-energy legislation when big oil and other energy interests are united in their opposition. The companies that recognize the economic benefits in the bill can help bring along their political supporters.”

- Daniel J. Weiss, climate policy director at the Center for American Progress. As the Senate prepares to tackle global warming, the nation’s energy producers, once united, are battling one another over policy decisions worth hundreds of billions of dollars in coming decades. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems by Van Jones

“We’re going to appear on their shows. We’re going to participate, but understanding that they represent a point of view.”

White House Takes the Fight to FOX News

- David Axelrod, senior advisor to President Obama, was one of several senior White House officials to bash Fox News over the weekend. (Reuters)

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Terrorists Launch Coordinated Strikes in Pakistan

“One was expecting that there would be better planning and more fortifications. Unfortunately it has transpired today that none of them are in place.”

- Faisal Saleh Hayad, a lawmaker with the Pakistan Muslim League-Q. A series of attacks Thursday left at least 38 people dead and raised questions about the ability of the nation’s security and intelligence agencies to thwart a rising Islamist insurgency. (Washington Post)

* Related Title: The Inheritance by David E. Sanger

Olympia Snowe Still the Key Vote on Healthcare

“I think the administration has put her in the driver’s seat; it’s very disconcerting.”

- Representative Raúl M. Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, who is leading an effort in the House to round up votes for a government plan akin to Medicare. The White House and Congressional leaders turned in earnest on Wednesday to working out big differences in the five health care bills. All eyes were on Senator Olympia J. Snowe, the Maine Republican whose call for a “trigger” that would establish a government plan as a fallback is one of the leading compromise ideas.

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean

Justice Ginsburg Released After Night in Hospital

“Prior to the plane taking off, the justice experienced extreme drowsiness, causing her to fall from her seat.”

- A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court, noting that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized overnight for what appeared to be an adverse reaction to medication after she boarded an overnight flight to London. She was released Thursday. (CNN)

* Related Title: The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

The Battle Over the War in Afghanistan

“This is a ferociously difficult issue, and it bears a lot of thought and reflection and review. Every assumption needs to be tested.”

- White House advisor David Axelrod. President Obama’s review of Afghanistan war strategy has drawn criticism from Republicans and intensified lobbying from advocates and opponents of sending more U.S. troops to that country. (Bloomberg)

* Related Title: The Limits of Power by Andrew J. Bacevich

How Will Nations Pay for a Global Climate Deal?

“The level of ambition in funding is not matching up to the sense of urgency everyone now has. “Financing and an inadequate level of financing are a deal breaker for us.”

- Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, the lead climate negotiator for Brazil. As world leaders struggle to hash out a new global climate deal by December, they are increasingly concerned how to pay for the new accord, estimated at $100 billion a year by 2020. (New York Times)

* Related Title: The Global Deal by Nicholas Stern

Goldman Sachs 9-Month Compensation: $527,192 a Person

“Our competitors are paying people quite well [and are] very willing to pay employees guaranteed bonuses of very high amounts.”

- David Viniar, Goldman Sachs’s chief financial officer. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. set aside $16.7 billion for compensation and benefits in the first nine months of 2009, up 46 percent from a year earlier and enough to pay each worker $527,192 for the period. (Bloomberg)

* Related Title: The Audacity of Greed by Jonathan Tasini

Congress Takes Up Financial Industry Reform

“The big banks have no clout. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase. Nobody cares what they think, literally.”

- Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which today takes up key elements of President Obama’s proposal to better regulate the financial institutions that caused the 2008 financial collapse. It seems that small neighborhood banks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are overshadowing the nation’s biggest banks in influencing lawmakers shaping the reform legislation. (AP)

* Related Title: The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris

Interest groups battle to deflect health taxes

“Let’s charge the millionaires instead of people making $40,000, $50,000 a year.”

- Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who said his union will press Senate leaders to advance a bill that offers a public option and drops a proposed tax on high-cost insurance policies. Insurance companies, unions, hospitals, and other interested parties are lobbying lawmakers to shift burdens onto someone else rather than pay extra taxes under new health care legislation. (AP)

* Related Title: Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform by Howard Dean
Hillary Clinton Disavows Presidential Ambitions

“I have absolutely no interest in running for president again.”

- In an interview with ABC News, Hillary Clinton said her job as Secretary of State “is incredibly, all-encompassing” and that when it is over, she may look forward to “taking some time off.” (AFP)

* Related Title: The Battle for America 2008 by Dan Balz & Haynes Johnson

George W. Bush Favors Diplomacy with North Korea

“[Six-nation talks are] the best way to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.”

- Former President George W. Bush, in a speech in Seoul, South Korea, said multilateral diplomacy — involving United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea — is the key to resolving the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program. (VOA)

* Related Title: The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power by David E. Sanger

J.P. Morgan Posts Huge Profits

“What you have is this tremendous pent-up demand for funding, which burst open in the quarter.”

- Richard Bove, a financial analyst, commenting on word that JPMorgan Chase’s profits increased more than six fold in the latest quarter. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest level since 1983. (Bloomberg)

* Related Title: The Audacity of Greed: Free Markets, Corporate Thieves, and the Looting of America by Jonathan Tasini