Try matching the quote with the person. (VERBATIM QUOTES FROM WHEN CLINTON WAS COMMITTING TROOPS TO BOSNIA:)

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Jackson was sharply critical of Obama’s reaction to the case in Jena, Louisiana Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson sharply criticized Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday over his reaction to the arrest of six black juveniles in Jena, Louisiana on murder charges, accusing the Illinois senator of "acting like he’s white," according to a South Carolina newspaper.

The comments reportedly came during a speech at Columbia’s historically black Benedict College.

The State newspaper reports Jackson later said he did not recall saying Obama is "acting like he’s white," but continued to condemn the Illinois Democrat as well as the other presidential candidates for not bringing more attention to this issue.

He also said Obama needs to be "bolder" in his stances if he wants to make inroads in South Carolina. Obama currently trails rival Hillary Clinton, a senator from New York, in the Palmetto State by 18 points, according to a recent LA Times/Bloomberg poll.

Jackson, who ran for president twice in the 1980’s, endorsed Obama’s White House bid earlier in the year. Jackson won the South Carolina Democratic primary, where African American voters play an influential role, in both presidential bids.

"If I were a candidate, I’d be all over Jena," the prominent civil rights activist said Tuesday in Columbia, South Carolina, the paper reports. "Jena is a defining moment, just like Selma was a defining moment."

Jackson is slated to be on hand for a march in Jena this Thursday. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and hip-hop artist Mos Def are also expected to be on hand

Obama formally released a statement on the case Friday evening after one of the teen’s charges was thrown out, saying, “I am pleased that the Louisiana state appeals court recognized that the aggravated battery charge brought in this case was inappropriate."

"I hope that today’s decision will lead the prosecutor to reconsider the excessive charges brought against all the teenagers in this case," he added. "And I hope that the judicial process will move deliberately to ensure that all of the defendants will receive a fair trial and equal justice under the law."

He also said in a separate statement last week, "When nooses are being hung in high schools in the 21st century, it’s a tragedy. It shows that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation to heal our racial tensions. This isn’t just Jena’s problem; it’sAmerica’s problem."

Meanwhile, Obama’s chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, have also recently condemned the Jena case.

At last Saturday’s NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner in Charleston South Carolina, Clinton said, "“There is no excuse for the way the legal system treated those young people….this case reminds us that the scales of justice are seriously out of balance when it comes to charging, sentencing, and punishing African-Americans."

It cries out for a full investigation from the Department of Justices’ Civil Rights division," she added.

Edwards released a statement Wednesday morning, saying "as someone who grew up in the segregated South, I feel a special responsibility to speak out on racial intolerance. Americans of all races are traveling to Jena because they believe that how we respond to the racial tensions in Jena says everything about who we are as a nation."

Hey Jesse… Maybe if Barack wore a muu-muu and ran in circles chanting down with homie?

The political movement loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has withdrawn from Iraq’s governing Shia alliance. The move deprives Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s coalition of 30 votes - leaving it in control of about half the seats in parliament.

The decision, announced at a news conference in the holy city of Najaf, comes five months after Mr Sadr pulled out his ministers from the cabinet.

The group has complained that Mr Maliki has not consulted them over decisions.

Other grievances voiced in the past by the Sadr bloc include their call - ignored by the prime minister - for a timetable for the withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq.

In August, the main Sunni alliance also withdrew from the Iraqi cabinet, which currently has 17 ministers - with 23 other portfolios left unfilled. Read the rest of this entry »

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A key Sunni sheik who united with U.S. forces to fight al Qaeda militants in Iraq was assassinated Thursday by a roadside bomb, officials said.

The bomb struck a convoy carrying Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Reesha and his security detail, a Ramadi police official and an Interior Ministry official said.

At least two of the sheik’s bodyguards were killed and five other escorts were wounded in the afternoon attack.

Abu Reesha, 39, was head of the Anbar Salvation Council — also known as the Anbar Awakening — a coalition of tribes that has been working with the U.S. military to counter al Qaeda in Sunni-dominated Anbar province.

The council, funded and supported by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, was formed last year.

Police said the attack happened about a mile from Abu Reesha’s home, but the deputy head of the Anbar Salvation Council, Sheik Hameed al-Hayyes, said the bomb struck the convoy 50 meters from his home in a heavily secured zone surrounding the house.

Al-Hayyes said Abu Reesha was leaving his home to go to his nearby farm, a daily routine, when he was attacked.

It is unclear if the bomb was remotely detonated or triggered by the convoy. Al-Hayyes said he suspects al Qaeda may be behind the attack, but could not rule out a rival political group.

“This is a big blow to the Anbar Salvation Council and the sons of all Iraqi tribes in al-Anbar and other provinces,” al-Hayyes said. “But the council will continue its work and will step up current security measures for its members.”

After Abu Reesha’s killing, the council went on Iraq’s state-run television to announce seven days of mourning.

Abu Reesha was one of several Sunni leaders who met with President Bush during the president’s surprise visit to Anbar on September 3. In a photograph taken during the six-hour visit, a smiling Bush is seen shaking hands with the sheik.

Bush has repeatedly cited successful efforts to bring Anbar tribesmen over to the coalition’s side in the fight against al Qaeda in Iraq as evidence of U.S. military success. Since the Sunni sheiks began cooperating with the U.S. military, violent attacks have significantly decreased in Anbar, once a hot spot for al Qaeda attacks.

Bush is expected to reiterate Anbar’s success in a major address Thursday night.

Abu Reesha was a prime target for al Qaeda militants and other terrorist groups because of his visible alliance with the U.S. coalition.

Militants have targeted Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar in recent months because of their cooperation with the U.S. military.

In July, a suicide bomb detonated at a meeting of Sunni tribal leaders in Taji, who were allied with the U.S. military, killing some of them.

Abu Reesha was featured in a documentary, “Land of Fire,” that aired on Iraqi state-run television in May in which he explained his reasoning for turning against Sunni militants, particularly al Qaeda, in Anbar province.

“The limit was when it (turned) into a sectarian war,” Abu Reesha said. “They lead the people to a sectarian war, they kill a Sunni and say he was killed by a Shiite, they kill a Shiite and say he was killed by a Sunni.

“This led to tensions between the two sects.”

The rising tensions paved the way for the Anbar Salvation Council, Abu Reesha said, “because there is no way we will let them kill as they like.”

Since achieving success in Anbar, the group announced last month it wanted to extend its reach into Baghdad and the government. It proposed a list of candidates to fill six Cabinet positions vacated in July by the country’s largest Sunni political bloc.

Speaking in the al-Iraqiya documentary, Abu Reesha said his group was willing to “liberate all the villages near Baghdad … and if the government asks us to participate in cleansing Baghdad that will be a great honor for us and we will respond to the call.”

Democrats in Congress are going on the offensive Wednesday to force a shift in Iraq policy, the day before President Bush is expected to announce a troop drawdown.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Congress this week he could see the number of troops declining by 30,000 — which would reduce the number to “pre-surge” levels — by July 2008.

Bush is to address the nation on his plans Thursday night. Iraq war critic Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, will deliver the Democratic response.

Democrats were quick to say that the recommended pullout is not a change in Iraq policy, but merely an end to the so-called surge — the 30,000 additional troops sent to Iraq that began in January. The strategy was meant to fight growing sectarian and insurgent violence to allow for political stability. Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Iraq’s Interior Ministry is regarded as “dysfunctional” and sectarian” and the National Police should be “disbanded and reorganized,” according to an independent report obtained by CNN.

The report, authored by the Independent Commission on Security Forces in Iraq, fires stinging criticism at Iraqi security forces but also includes promising words for the country’s military.

Ordered by Congress, the report comes less than a week before the White House is expected to provide a highly anticipated assessment to lawmakers about President Bush’s increase of some 30,000 troops to Iraq this year. Part of the mission of the increase was to reduce sectarian killings that have spread throughout much of Iraq since 2006.

Set for release on Thursday, the report says Iraq’s Interior Ministry “is a ministry in name only.” It “suffers from ineffective leadership” and “is widely regarded as dysfunctional and sectarian,” says the report. Read the rest of this entry »

Here ’s the GAO’s full report on the situation in Iraq.

Screenshots of the important items and the conclusions after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

"Yes, Billy, this is Larry Craig calling. You can reach me on my cell. Arlen Specter is now willing to come out in my defense, arguing that it appears by all that he knows that I have been railroaded and all that. "Having all of that, we have reshaped my statement a little bit to say it is my intent to resign on Sept. 30. I think it is important for you to make as bold a statement as you are comfortable with this afternoon, and I would hope you could make it in front of the cameras. "I think it would help drive the story that I’m willing to fight, that I’ve got quality people out there fighting in my defense, and that this thing could take a new turn or a new shape, it has that potential. Anyway, give me a buzz or give Mike a buzz on that. We’re headed to my press conference now. "Thank you. Bye." The audio is

JENA, Louisiana (CNN) — Mychal Bell was like a lot of boys his age, his mother says.

The always-smiling 16-year-old often spent weekends on the couch, munching Little Debbie snack cakes, watching football and dreaming of the day he would join his heroes in the NFL.

That was before police arrested the star running back and five other teens — dubbed the “Jena 6″ — on attempted murder and conspiracy charges after a December 4, 2006, fight at the local high school. Three of the six, including Bell, later had their charges reduced to aggravated battery.

Bell, now 17, sits in a cell in Jena, waiting to learn later this month whether he will spend the next two decades in prison.

“He’s not the same. He’s grown up a lot since he’s been in there. He’s not the same ol’ smiling Mychal he used to be,” his mother, Melissa Bell, says. “I pray that the judge will go easy on him.”

(Note: Please visit the Jena 6 website and sign the petition for Gov Blanco’s intervention in this matter) Read the rest of this entry »