Circling the wagons...Children Bombers...Not enough guns

Good Morning!

I'm sure you've heard of the ongoing scandal over the White House firings of politically unreliable Federal Prosecutors? The Democratic Congress is very interested in hearing what the "president's" aides have to say. On the record and under oath, of course. It should come as no surprise that the White House opposes the idea.

George Bush, the US president, has said he will block any attempts to get his aides to testify under oath over accusations senior government lawyers were fired for political reasons.

"I will oppose any attempts to subpoena White House officials," George Bush said on Tuesday.

Several lawyers removed by the US Justice Department headed by Alberto Gonzales, the attorney-general and close aide to Bush, have claimed they were sacked after refusing to launch what they say were politically-motivated corruption inquiries involving Democrats.

'Political purge'
Democrats in Congress claim that the dismissals, announced last December, were part of a political purge of rivals that has undermined the independence of Gonzales' justice department.

Bush has openly supported Gonzales after some of Bush's fellow Republicans joined Democrats in calling for the resignation of the attorney general, a fellow Texan who came to Washington with Bush six years ago.

Responding to calls for aides to testify under oath, Bush said: "I hope the Democrats choose not to do that ... we will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition."

He has offered to allow Karl Rove, his chief strategist and deputy chief of staff, along with some other officials to be questioned behind closed doors and off the record.

A judiciary sub-committee is expected to vote on whether to issue subpoenas for Rove and four other past and present top White House officials, including Harriet Miers, the former counsel.

Miers was initially thought to have raised the idea of firing all 93 US government prosecutors following Bush's re-election in 2004.

Besides Miers, other White House officials offered for questioning are William Kelley, the deputy counsel, and Scott Jennings, the political adviser.

Bush, who was pressed to remove Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, after the Democrats took the majority in congress, said he would stand by White House officials.

'No oath, no transcript'

Fred Fielding, Bush's official government lawyer, told legislators that Bush's aides would accept private interviews instead of testifying under oath.

"Such interviews would be private and conducted without the need for an oath, transcript, subsequent testimony, or the subsequent issuance of subpoenas," Fielding said in a letter released by the White House.

Several legislators have criticised Bush for taking a combative stance.

Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejected Bush's offer for Rove to be questioned privately.

"I don't accept his offer. It is not constructive and it is not helpful to be telling the senate how to do our investigation or to prejudge its outcome," he said.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, a new tactic is emerging. Remember back during the first Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein used women and children as human shields to protect likely targets? It looks like the insurgency has adopted a similar tactic to get past US checkpoints....only they're blowing up babies in the process.

A US military official has said children have been used in a bomb attack in Iraq, raising fears that insurgents are using a new tactic.

Gen Michael Barbero said a vehicle stopped at a checkpoint was waved through because two children were seen in the back, but was then detonated.

Militants were changing tactics in response to tighter security, he said.

Five people including the children died and another seven were injured in the attack, in Baghdad on Sunday.

Gen Barbero said there had been also two adults in the car. They parked it near a market, abandoned it with the children inside and apparently detonated it.

The two children died, along with three civilians in the vicinity, officials said.

The children's identity is not known, nor their relationship to the adults.

'Changing tactics'
Gen Barbero said it was the first time he had seen a report of children being used in bombings.

"The brutality and ruthless nature of this enemy hasn't changed," he said.

"They are just interested in slaughtering Iraqi civilians, to be very honest."

The apparent new tactics have come as more US forces are sent into Baghdad as part of a security crackdown.

Gen Barbero said that car bombs and suicide attacks have become more frequent but were less effective as they were often stopped checkpoints.

The use of chlorine bombs was another example of how tactics were changing, he added.

Several incidents involving chlorine have been reported in different parts of Iraq in recent months, prompting fears of a further escalation of conflicts between rival groups.

Lastly this morning....file this under "Mother of all Bad Ideas". As if there isn't enough trouble in the Middle East, the Bush Administration wants to sell weapons there now, too. Nevermind that the folks most in need of US weapons in the region are actual US soldiers.

WASHINGTON -- The State Department and the Pentagon are quietly seeking congressional approval for significant new military sales to US allies in the Persian Gulf region. The move is part of a broader American strategy to contain Iranian influence by strengthening Iran's neighbors and signaling that the United States is still a strong military player in the Middle East, despite all the difficulties in Iraq.

But the arms sales, which would come on top of a recent upgrade of US Patriot antimissile interceptors in Qatar and Kuwait and the deployment of two aircraft carriers to the Gulf, could spark concerns that further military buildup in the volatile region would bring Washington closer to a confrontation with Iran.

Senior US officials have been tight-lipped in public about what systems they hope to sell, citing the need to get congressional support for the measure first and skittishness among Arab allies that don't want the publicity. Current and former US officials and analysts familiar with the discussions say items under consideration include sophisticated air and missile defense systems, advanced early warning radar aircraft that could detect low-flying missiles, and light coastal combat ships that could sweep the Gulf for mines and help gather underwater intelligence.

The arms sales are a Cold War-style geopolitical maneuver designed to isolate Iran by arming its neighbors against a perceived common threat.

"We should look at this in the broader context of what Secretary [Condoleezza] Rice calls the looming confrontation between extremists and moderates," Stephen D. Mull , the State Department's acting assistant secretary of political-military affairs, said in an interview. "We are on record as saying Syria and Iran sponsor these [extremist] forces."

The move could be an economic boon for New England, which manufactures some of the weapons systems that are believed to be under consideration for sale.

The current arms sale proposals grew out of a diplomatic effort launched last May called the "Gulf Security Dialogue," in which US officials sought to suggest ways to bolster the defenses of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman.

Not every country opted to buy a new weapons system, Mull said. Some asked for other kinds of assistance, such as improving port security and protecting key energy installations.

So...the madness that is the United States continues on.