- Adam Brookes
- 24 Oct 06, 08:59 PM
The US ambassador to Iraq, , and , the commander of US and multinational forces in Iraq, went on air this morning.
Their take on the situation was strikingly different from much of what one hears in Washington. According to General Casey, Iraqi armed forces should be ready to take over responsibility for security in Iraq in 12 to 18 months. According to the ambassador, a "national compact" for Iraq - in essence a new political framework for the country's future - will be in place in a year.
Their assumptions: that the effort in Iraq will continue; that success is still achievable; that the building blocks are being put in place for a "multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian, democratic Iraq". They appeared purposeful and committed.
Meanwhile, told us a couple of weeks ago that Iraq is "drifting sideways", and that the US Congress faces some "tough" choices in the next three months. Washington is fizzing with anticipation over the possibility that the Bush administration will announce a significant change in Iraq policy early in the new year.
Were Mr Khalilzad and Gen Casey put up there for political reasons? Certainly their gravitas and apparent resolve might strengthen the sense among voters that all is not lost in Iraq. And they'll shift the headlines - for today, at least - away from the morose debate in Washington.
Adam Brookes is the 主播大秀's Pentagon correspondent.
- Guto Harri
- 24 Oct 06, 04:06 PM
Polling day, as we know, is 7 November - and a quick check of the calendar makes it clear that's still a fortnight away.
So imagine my horror, waking up in Texas this morning to see a number of candidates casting their votes on television.
I wasn't dreaming. I just hadn't heard about the "" which began yesterday and ends on 3 November.
Texans clearly have. About a third of them voted early in the 2002 election and more than half did so in the 2004 presidential election.
This time, the numbers could be even greater. In alone, 9,000 people voted yesterday and many more could do so today.
"We no longer have an Election Day, we have an election period," said Republican campaign consultant . "Candidates have to peak and stay peaked for the early voting period."
Democratic political consultant Robert Jara, of Campaign Strategies, agrees.
"You used to build to Election Day. Now you build to early voting. It's like a constant, long-term Election Day".
Guto Harri is the 主播大秀's North America business correspondent.
- The Reporters
- 24 Oct 06, 03:25 PM
USA Today: Voters are paying more attention to national issues - the war and the economy - than in any previous mid-term election.
Washington Post: Independents are leaning towards the Democrats by a margin of two to one, a poll suggests.
New York Daily News: Hillary Clinton's long-shot Senate rival denies saying she had plastic surgery, while the senator says she was "cute" in high school.
- Adam Brookes
- 24 Oct 06, 12:39 AM
I took my kids to the zoo on a beautiful fall afternoon. It was teeming, Latino families picnicking in warm sunlight, tourists from China waiting for the pandas, a huge church group from the Midwest.
I bought popcorn and we gawped at the elephants.
In the crowd, I caught sight of a young man with a high-and-tight military haircut. He wore the black Iraq veteran's T-shirt. Where his right arm should have been, a stump protruded. He stood stock still for a long time, then wandered away. He seemed utterly alone.
The war spreads across public discussion of these elections like a stain. Yet still, it seems to me, the war has few tangible consequences for most Americans. are down, the Dow is up, American society continues on its vibrant, eclectic way. Unless you are serving, or a member of your family is serving, Iraq is an abstract problem.
Adam Brookes is the 主播大秀's Pentagon correspondent.
