Iraq death toll
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- WAR IS NOT WINNABLE
INFLATION INCREASEWASHINGTON - Consumer inflation spurted higher in February, reflecting rising costs for gasoline and big jumps for food, while industrial output rebounded sharply, in large part because of the biggest jump in utility production in 17 years. The Labor Department reported Friday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent last month, double the January increase and the largest advance since a similar increase in December. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said that production at factories, mines and utilities surged by 1 percent last month, a sharp rebound following a 0.3 percent drop in January. Much of the strength came from a 6.7 percent surge in utility production, as colder-than-normal temperatures in much of the country boosted production by the biggest amount since December 1989. Output at the nation's factories rose by 0.4 percent in February, recouping much of the 0.5 percent drop in January. Auto production was up 3.2 percent, helped by an increase in light truck manufacturing, but analysts said the domestic industry remains under severe strain from foreign competition. A jump in computer production boosted the output of home electronics but home appliances, furniture and carpeting all suffered declines, reflecting the slump in the housing industry. The increase in consumer inflation was larger than the 0.3 percent gain that had been forecast although excluding volatile food and energy prices, inflation was better-behaved, rising by just 0.2 percent, exactly what economists had been expecting. Federal Reserve policymakers meet next Tuesday and Wednesday with the wide expectation that they will leave interest rates unchanged even though the economy has slowed significantly under the impact of a steep slump in housing and troubles in autos and other parts of manufacturing. While the Fed would normally be expected to ride to the rescue of a faltering economy by cutting rates, the stubbornly high inflation readings are expected to boost the arguments of Fed officials that the biggest threat to the economy remains the risk of higher inflation, not weaker growth. The overall CPI reading was slightly bigger than expected, but it was still more moderate than a huge 1.3 percent surge in wholesale prices for February, a jump that was more than double what economists had been expecting. At the consumer level, price pressures were led by higher energy costs, which were up 0.9 percent last month after having fallen by 1.5 percent in January. Gasoline costs rose by 0.3 percent with economists forecasting even bigger advances as the spring driving season gets under way. The latest Lundberg Survey found that the nationwide average for gasoline has risen by 20 cents per gallon in just the past two months. Food costs shot up by 0.8 percent in February, the biggest increase in 22 months. The gain was led by 16.3 percent surge in citrus prices, reflecting adverse weather in January in California growing areas. Rising fruit and vegetable costs contributed three-fifths of February's higher food costs. So far an expected moderation in inflation has not occurred. For the first two months of this year, consumer prices are rising at an annual rate of 3.3 percent, up from a 2.5 percent increase for all of 2006. Core inflation, which excluded energy and food, has been rising at an annual rate of 3 percent over the past two months, far above the Fed's comfort zone for gains of 1 percent to 2 percent in core prices. Last year, core inflation rose by 2.6 percent, which was the highest reading since 2001. The Fed raised interest rates for two years with the last rate hike occurring in June 2006 as it attempted to slow economic growth enough to dampen inflation. Outside of food and energy, price pressures in February were seen in rising costs for shelter, medical care and clothing. WAR IS NOT WINNABLEIraq War forever alters D.C. landscape WASHINGTON - Four years into the Iraq war, about the only thing that has not changed is President Bush's insistence the fight can be won. With more than 3,200 U.S. troops dead and still no clear way out, the political landscape could not be more different. Public support for the war has fallen to its lowest levels. Republicans have lost control of Congress because of voters' angst over the conflict. Even the president has acknowledged the tactical approach to the war must change. The debate on whether to launch a pre-emptive attack against a nation has given way to this question: How soon should U.S. troops leave? "The war that we the Congress authorized the president to engage in is different than the one we're in today," acknowledged GOP Rep. C.W. Bill Young (news, bio, voting record) of Florida, an ardent Bush supporter whose seat Democrats are targeting in the 2008 elections. With sectarian attacks on the rise in Iraq, "I think we have to have a very serious appraisal of how you conduct yourself in that type of situation," Young said. Young is not alone in questioning whether the U.S. is on the right track. Bush's critics and supporters alike say the four years of violence and the death toll has led to soul-searching over how far Congress should go to intervene in a war that has gone badly. White House officials and many legal experts contend the Constitution gives the president supreme authority on foreign policy matters and control of the armed forces, whereas Congress' clearest option is to cut off money. Democrats, reluctant to restrict that money for fear of being accused of abandoning the troops, are considering laws that would set a deadline for the war. If these bills pass, Bush is expected to veto the legislation or ignore it. But how much longer the president can hold out is uncertain. His Jan. 10 announcement that he planned to send in 21,500 more combat troops found support among most Republicans. Yet even they say the clock is ticking.
Last month, AP-Ipsos polling found that not quite four in 10 people surveyed agreed with the decision to go to war and six in 10 opposed — the same levels of support found by a recent Gallup poll. The inability to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq did not help in maintaining support for the war. The claim that Saddam Hussein possessed such weapons was a main justification the administration used for the war. Public acceptance of the war eroded as American casualties mounted and U.S. troops, initially focused on Sunni insurgents, instead had to grapple with Sunni-Shiite violence. This past week, the Pentagon said the violence was taking on aspects of a civil war. Military officials agree that the task of easing that bloodshed is best accomplished by Iraqi security forces, once they become capable. Other blows to the once-popular war effort were revelations of American forces abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and the massacre of Iraqi civilians at Haditha. Most recently there have been reports of substandard care of wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. One political marker was last October when Virginia Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record) declared the war was "drifting sideways." A prominent Republican on military issues, Warner stood beside Bush in 2002 as the president signed into law the congressional authorization for the war. But four years later, upon returning from a trip to Iraq, Warner said he had lost confidence that the Iraqi government was making progress and worried that sectarian violence had consumed Baghdad. After the elections, Warner proposed a congressional resolution stating opposition to the president's plan to augment force levels. The resolution drowned amid partisan bickering and was never voted on, but it attracted enough Republican support to worry the White House that it was losing its support base. In another sign of the changing times, news of al-Qaida member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession that he masterminded Sept. 11 and plotted some 30 other attacks quickly gave way to another development. House Democrats won their first vote on a war spending bill that would demand the president pull troops out of Iraq before September 2008. As that confrontation looms in the full House, Bush's supporters say they will continue to review their options to bring troops home. Young says regardless of everything that has happened, he is not thinking of abandoning his president. But when asked if the war is winnable, Young's response was more one of optimism than anything else. "It has to be" winnable, he said. "We can't let terrorists continue to threaten the United States." Directory: files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Integer programming and game theory files -> 4 Integer Programming files -> Bpa vehicle Window Repair Scenario #1 task: Procure vehicle window relacement. Objective files -> Pop Warner History files -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose files -> Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Program Data: Standard 1 Exhibit 4d files -> Hanban – asia society confucius classrooms network 2010 request for proposal files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations Download 1.35 Mb. Share with your friends:
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