Countdown Newsletter: 08/02/06 -- The Haditha Findings

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Tonight on Countdown
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Evidence collected on the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot the civilians, including unarmed women and children, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service have completed their initial work on the incident last November, but may be asked to probe further as Marine Corps and Navy prosecutors review the evidence and determine whether to recommend criminal charges. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14150687/

President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday that Iraqi forces will assume security duties for the whole country by the end of the year, taking over responsibility from U.S. and other foreign troops now policing all but one of the 18 provinces. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14149728/

Publishers are releasing an unprecedented number of books that cast a critical eye on the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq. The most scathing critique yet comes from Thomas E. Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post. In ``Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq'', he writes that the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 ``ultimately may come to be seen as one of the most profligate actions in the history of American foreign policy.'' Not only was it ``based on perhaps the worst war plan in American history,'' but it ``confused removing Iraq's regime with the far more difficult task of changing the entire country.'' http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aBacyLu0DAeo&refer=home

Thomas Ricks joins us tonight.

Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann broadcasts LIVE at 8 pm et, and the count is never complete without you. Join us.

Israel pressed the first full day of a massive new ground attack, sending 8,000 troops into southern Lebanon on Wednesday and seizing five people it said were Hezbollah fighters in a dramatic airborne raid on a northeastern town. Hezbollah retaliated with its deepest strikes yet into Israel, firing a record number of more than 160 rockets. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14128276/

In addition to lofty issues of war and peace, the Senate is grappling with another urgent matter: the senators-only elevators at the Capitol are being overrun by the unelected. “I hesitate to say that it’s a big problem,” said Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, shaking his head gravely. “There is terrific crowding.” http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/washington/02elevator.html?hp&ex=1154491200&en=b394647475c07af6&ei=5094&partner=homepage

The fries on Capitol Hill are French again.
So is the breakfast toast in the congressional cafeterias, with both fries and toast having been liberated from the appellation "freedom." Three years after House Republicans trumpeted the new names to get back at the French for snubbing the coalition of the willing in Iraq, congressmen don't even want to talk about french fries, which are actually native to Belgium, and toast. http://washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060802-125318-3981r

Commuters up and down the East Coast sweated on their way to work Wednesday and others stayed close to fans and swimming pools as the temperature and humidity climbed back up to heat wave levels after a night of little relief. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14148228/

And more on those crazy Japanese game shows.

That's some of what we're planning for tonight's show.

Finally,
They say it takes a thief to catch a thief, but India’s Delhi Metro has hired a monkey to frighten off other monkeys from boarding trains and upsetting passengers. In an effort to keep monkeys out of the New Delhi subways, authorities have called in one of the few animals known to scare the creatures - a fierce-looking primate called the langur. The decision to hire a langurwallah — a man who trains and controls the langurs — came after the most recent incident -- a monkey boarded a train at the underground Chawri Bazaar station and reportedly scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14121007/
Monkey see, monkey do.

-- Carey Fox

Countdown Home: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

Other News:
The Cuban government sought to reassure citizens after Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power for the first time in 47 years, releasing a statement from the world’s longest-serving head of government saying his health is stable, his spirits good and the defense of the island guaranteed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14131285/

Tropical Storm Prapiroon strengthened into a full-blown typhoon on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of possible severe destruction to parts of southern China. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14151241/

Mel Gibson’s latest apology drew mixed reactions from Jewish leaders, with some saying they were willing to help the actor address the anti-Semitic slurs he made during a drunken driving arrest and others demanding proof of his repentance. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14149913/

Ten Middle Eastern and Asian immigrants sued the government Tuesday for allegedly letting their U.S. citizenship applications linger indefinitely by delaying background checks. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14142352/

:hi:

you know? at this point, i'm really ready for a keith olberman-style CHANNEL! NETWORK! 24/7 Keith-style news, please.

the stories, in order and importance, in no way match ANY other news show... until two days later.

then they talk about it, but it's not considered breaking.