Nuke News. At a recent hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hillary asked Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, whether the North Koreans had the ability to put a nuclear warhead on a missile. “My assessment is that they have the capability to do that,” said Jacoby, who also told Hillary that North Korea has the ability to launch a two-stage missile that could hit the West Coast of the United States, and a three-stage missile that “would be able to reach most of the continental U.S., although the U.S. has yet to detect the testing of such missiles.” After the hearing, Hillary joined with the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Carl Levin (D.-Mich.), to write a letter telling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Jacoby’s testimony was “most disturbing” and asking that the United States drop objections to two-way talks with the North Koreans. Later in an interview, Hillary called Jacoby’s statement “the first confirmation, publicly, by the administration that the North Koreans have the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device that can reach the United States,” adding, “Put simply, they couldn’t do that when George Bush became President, and now they can.” Hillary did not mention the fact that it was under the administration of her husband that North Korea received a $6-billion subsidy in exchange for a promise not to seek nuclear weapons, a promise that, naturally, Communist leader Kim Jong Il never meant to keep.
Peter Paul Returns. The New York Times reports that Peter Paul, who hosted and largely paid for the 2000 fund-raiser for Hillary that led to the criminal indictment of her ex-finance chief David Rosen, is “collaborating” with the conservative U.S. Justice Foundation on a project to “publicize potentially damaging information” about the Clintons. Paul plans on using documents and other materials from his production of the infamous fund-raiser, including “bank statements, canceled checks and film of him with the Clintons.” The Justice Foundation has established a website at www.hillcap.org that will update information concerning the criminal case against Rosen as well as the civil suit Paul has filed against the Clintons. Paul says that “this fund-raiser will ultimately be viewed as her Chappaquiddick and cost her the presidency. I’ve already got her campaign finance director indicted.” However, Hillary doesn’t seem to be too nervous, as her attorney, David Kendall, replied: “Peter Paul is a man with an impressive record of felony convictions, currently in federal custody. Most of his civil suit has already been dismissed and the remainder has no merit.”
Another Candidate? The surgeon general under President George H.W. Bush and current New York state health commissioner, Antonia Novello, is considering a run against Sen. Clinton next year, according to state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long. “I had a very brief conversation with her and talked about the pluses and minuses,” said Long. “I didn’t encourage her or discourage her.” Novello was born in Puerto Rico and opposes abortion rights, and has also had “preliminary conversations” with other state GOP leaders who are looking for a high-profile candidate to challenge Hillary. “She is one of the many possible candidates we are taking a look at,” said Stephen Minarik, the state Republican leader.
O Canada. Hillary recently introduced legislation to require Homeland Security to name a Northern border coordinator to focus exclusively on increasing security on the Canada-U.S. border without harming trade. Said Hill: “For too long, Northern border security has received too little support when it comes to federal resources.” She wrote the legislation largely in response to a Homeland Security proposal to mandate the use of passports for travelers entering the United States from Canada, a reversal of longstanding rules. Clinton said the requirement could have a “profound impact” on tourism and commerce in both the U.S. and Canada. “National security and, in particular, security at our borders, must continue to be paramount,” wrote Hillary to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “However, it is crucial that any new requirement be sensitive to the potentially serious impact of this proposal on tourism and the regional economy.” Her bill would establish a new Canada-U.S. border coordinator who would serve as a liaison with the Canadian government on border security.
