Skip to main content
Search
Services
INSIDE POLITICS

The Situation: Friday, August 12

Editor's Note: The Situation Report is a running log of dispatches, quotes, links and behind-the-scenes notes filed by the correspondents and producers of CNN's Washington Bureau. Watch "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on CNN 3 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET weekdays.

Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

story.generic.capitol.jpg

On CNN TV

RELATED

SEND YOUR COMMENTS

Name:
E-mail:
Hometown:
Comment:

YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS

Senate
George W. Bush
Justice and Rights
Washington

Posted: 3:06 p.m. ET
Wolf Blitzer, CNN Washington Bureau

In the coming days, we are going to be watching the Israeli disengagement from Gaza very nervously. The potential is there for violence, including deadly violence -- not only between Israelis and Palestinians but among Israelis themselves.

Having covered the Israeli-Arab conflict for three decades, I tend the fear for the worst. There are simply so many dangerous pitfalls; the passions are so explosive.

Having said that, when seen over the long run, there have been positive developments over the years. In the aftermath of the 1973 war, Israel and Egypt began negotiations. That resulted in the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic trip to Jerusalem in 1977 and the peace treaty that was signed at the White House in 1979.

Early during the Clinton administration, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met on the White House lawn and shook hands.

And the next year, in 1994, Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan's late King Hussein.

Those were moments of hope. Unfortunately, there have been way too many moments of despair and death.

Israelis and Palestinians are now on the eve of a major potential turning point. We will be watching (and hoping for the best) every step of the way.

Change in FBI intelligence

Posted 1:50 p.m. ET
From Carol Cratty, CNN America Bureau

The woman who has headed the FBI's intelligence gathering effort for the last two years is leaving that post. The FBI announced Friday Maureen Baginski, Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence, is retiring but will continue to be a senior adviser to the bureau.

This follows on the heels of President Bush's June 28 memorandum calling for the creation of a new National Security Service within the FBI, as recommended by a presidential commission. The new National Security Service will follow the lead of the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte. At the time of the June announcement, FBI Director Robert Mueller said he did not see that as a diminishment of FBI authority.

CIA report on Iranian president

Posted 12:30 p.m. ET
From Andrea Koppel and Elise Labott, CNN State Department unit

A CIA report has determined with "relative certainty" that Iran's new president was not involved in the taking of U.S. hostages in 1979, three government officials told CNN.

But US officials said despite the report, there has not been a final determination on the issue, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hasn't yet been given a clean bill of health.

The State Department has been conducting additional interviews over the past week with former hostages. Most of the former hostages have said Ahmadinejad was not present during the hostage-taking, the officials said.

Still President Bush said Thursday Ahmadinejad would likely get a visa to come to New York for the UN general assembly next month. Officials say given the doubts about his involvement in the crisis and the US responsibility as host government to the UN to provide visas to heads of state, there is no strong legal basis to deny the visa.

Two former hostages told CNN they remain certain Ahmadinejad was involved in plotting the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. They also said they saw Ahmadinejad multiple times while they were held, and that he appeared to be in a supervisory role.

The Morning Grind

What a difference a week makes

Posted 9:15 a.m. ET
From John Mercurio, CNN Political unit

What a difference a week (and a controversial TV ad from an abortion-rights group) makes in the nomination battle of John Roberts.

Last weekend, rumors swirled of hand-wringing among social conservatives following word that Roberts had given pro bono legal aid to gay rights advocates in Romer vs. Evans. But as we head into "Justice Sunday II" this weekend in Nashville, the Right is unified once again behind Roberts, motivated largely by opposition to the NARAL ad.

Conservatives plan to lay the groundwork Sunday to attack Senate Dems if they question Roberts on abortion rights or other social issues, according to the New York Times.

''We are going to be vigilant to make sure that there is not this religious litmus test imposed,'' Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, the principal organizer of the telecast, told the Times.

"'Are you a Catholic? Do you really believe what the Catholic Church teaches?' These kinds of things shouldn't be part of the discussion,'' Perkins said.

One not-insignificant footnote to the NARAL ad: After a week of protests and a notable lack of support from their allies, the group said last night that it's withdrawing the ad.

In a letter to Judiciary Chairman (and frequent NARAL backer) Arlen Specter, President Nancy Keenan said a replacement ad examining Roberts' record on several points (including his advocacy for overturning Roe v. Wade, his statement questioning the right to privacy and his arguments against using a federal civil rights law to protect women and their doctors and nurses from those who use blockades and intimidation) will soon be on the air.

"Like such pro-Roberts groups as Progress for America, which began a significant advertising campaign within hours of Mr. Roberts' nomination, NARAL Pro-Choice America will continue to exercise our constitutional right to make sure the American people have an opportunity to hear all the facts about John Roberts' records during this process," Keenan wrote. "We play an important role in engaging the American people in this debate about issues that affect their daily lives."

Keenan decided to withdraw the ad after several NARAL allies failed to defend it. "We would have done the ad differently," DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney told the Washington Post.

The telecast of "Justice Sunday II" will take place at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday from a megachurch in Nashville. "Justice Sunday II," for the uninitiated, is the second in a series of televised church demonstrations organized by Perkins' group to pressure legislators into following evangelical positions on the judiciary. Bill Frist addressed the group by video in Louisville in April; Tom DeLay is scheduled to speak this weekend.

* Speaking of DeLay ...

We're also monitoring fallout this morning from a federal grand jury's decision yesterday to indict Jack Abramoff on fraud and conspiracy charges arising from a deal to buy Florida casino boats in '00. Abramoff surrendered to FBI agents in Los Angeles, about three hours after federal prosecutors in Miami announced the charges against him and a partner, Adam Kidan.

The grand jury indicted the men on charges they used falsified loan applications and a counterfeit wire transfer notice to persuade lenders to support their $148 million purchase of SunCruz Casinos, which runs gambling boats out of six Florida ports.

The partners obtained $60 million in loans from two companies -- Cayman Islands-based Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. and Foothill Capital Corp., a California company -- after submitting a transfer report that falsely stated they had put up $23 million in cash as a down payment, said U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta.

"SunCruz subsequently declared bankruptcy, resulting in substantial losses," Acosta said.

* Meanwhile, Bush and first lady Laura today attend an RNC luncheon at the Broken Spoke Ranch, down the road in Crawford. No big headlines are expected, but there could be an interesting moment en route to the luncheon: The road to Broken Spoke winds by the site where the mother of a solider killed in Iraq has been sitting all week, trying to meet with the president to discuss her opposition to the war.

Bush was asked about Cindy Sheehan during a media availability at the ranch Thursday. "I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position. She has every right in the world to say what she believes. And I've thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from others, which is get out of Iraq, now. And it would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so."

"Pulling the troops out," he added, "would send a terrible signal to the enemy."

Political Hot Topics

From Stephen Bach, CNN Washington Bureau

FIVE COUNTS OF WIRE FRAUD, ONE COUNT OF CONSPIRACY: Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a business partner were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, charged with five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy in their purchase of a fleet of Florida gambling boats from a businessman who was later killed in a gangland-style hit. Washington Post: Abramoff Indicted in Casino Boat Purchaselexternal link

NARAL WITHDRAWS AD: NARAL Pro-Choice America said late Thursday it was pulling a controversial advertisement in which the abortion rights group accused Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of "supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted bomber." The decision to withdraw the ad came after Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a scathing letter to the group, calling the 30-second ad "blatantly untrue and unfair." CNN.com: Abortion rights group pulls anti-Roberts ad

REDDISH TINT TO BLOGOSPHERE: Liberal activist Web loggers have made major advances on the Internet, but they remain far behind their conservative adversaries among the top 250 political blogs, according to a study by a Democratic think tank. Washington Times: Liberals lag conservatives in political blog presenceexternal link

JUST AN ACCOUNTING ERROR, OR FEC VIOLATION? U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's leadership committee may have illegally used $203,483 in restricted money to pay for its federal political activities in 2001 and 2002, according to an audit released Thursday by the Federal Election Commission. Houston Chronicle: ARMPAC may have broken the rulesexternal link

LOCAL GOP CRITICIZES LEGAL FUNDS FOR ACCUSED PHONEJAMMER: A New Hampshire member of the Republican National Committee was "uncomfortable" to learn that the RNC has used its donors' contributions to pay more than $700,000 in legal bills for accused 2002 GOP phone-jamming conspirator James Tobin. Union Leader: Lavish RNC funding of accused conspirator's defense is criticizedexternal link

Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Top Stories
Get up-to-the minute news from CNN
CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Search JobsMORE OPTIONS


 
Search
© 2007 Cable News Network.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map.
Offsite Icon External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pipeline Icon Pay service with live and archived video. Learn more
Radio News Icon Download audio news  |  RSS Feed Add RSS headlines