Obama Rejects All Options on Afghanistan, Asks for New Plans

Obama has rejected several options given to him on next steps in Afghanistan, and told advisers to return to the drawing board, after deciding none of their plans would do.

NYT: "General Eikenberry sent his reservations to Washington in a cable last week, the officials said. In that same period, President Obama and his national security advisers have begun examining an option that would send relatively few troops to Afghanistan, about 10,000 to 15,000, with most designated as trainers for the Afghan security forces. This low-end option was one of four alternatives under consideration by Mr. Obama and his war council at a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday afternoon. The other three options call for troop levels of around 20,000, 30,000 and 40,000, the three officials said."

Also in question is the effectiveness of the U.S. relationship with President Hamid Karzai.

Watch Rachel Maddow's report, AFTER THE JUMP...

State Dept. Contractors Exposed for Hazing in Afghanistan

Check out this report on military contractors hired as security for the State Dept. over in Afghanistan and their elaborate sexual hazing rituals which involve pissing on one another, doing shots of alcohol from one another's butt cracks, eating from said ass cracks, getting naked with one another, and simulating anal sex.

Of course gays can't be anywhere near the military because "it would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline."

What's wrong with this picture?

Watch the report, AFTER THE JUMP...

Clearer shots over at Gawker.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #498

DIANE BLACK: Tennessee State Senator Diane Black defends staffer who sent this racist email.

AMBUSH: Liberal blogger gives FOX News reporter Griff Jenkins a taste of its own ambush medicine.

BAT MAN: Long Beach Armada outfielder Josh Womack shows some bat skils.

AFGHANISTAN: A very sobering look at civilian casualties.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Al-Maliki Remarks on Obama Send White House, McCain Spinning

In an interview with the German magazine Spiegel Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he supports Barack Obama's 16-month timeline for withdrawal from Iraq:

"When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: 'US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes.' Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. 'Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they choose as their president is the Americans' business,' he said. But then, apparently referring to Republican candidate John McCain's more open-ended Iraq policy, Maliki said: 'Those who operate on the premise of short time periods in Iraq today are being more realistic. Artificially prolonging the tenure of US troops in Iraq would cause problems.'"

Here's the full interview.

A White House employee accidentally sent an email touting the interview to its internal distribution list, according to ABC's Jake Tapper.

After Maliki's remarks were seized upon by the media,an al-Maliki spokesperson made a clarification: "...a spokesman for al-Maliki said his remarks 'were misunderstood, mistranslated and not conveyed accurately.' Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the possibility of troop withdrawal was based on the continuance of security improvements, echoing statements that the White House made Friday after a meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. President Bush."

The clarification was reportedly prompted by a call from the White House, according to Talking Points Memo: "The gist of the White House's explanation is that the Iraqis and Maliki specifically were simply too unsophisticated to grasp the implications of Maliki's remarks."

According to TPM, the NYT throws water on any notion of a mistranslation. TPM writes: "The interpreter was al Maliki's, not Der Spiegel's. And Der Spiegel provided the Times with a tape recording of the interview, which was then independently translated and confirmed the accuracy of the original Der Spiegel account. "

Spiegel issued a release saying that the publication "sticks to its version of the conversation."

A Republican strategist to the McCain campaign (the GOP candidate appeared over the weekend at a Yankees game with Rudy Giuliani) summed up the series of events thusly: We're fucked.

The McCain campaign responded awkwardly to the news of the al-Maliki interview:

"Today, McCain 2008 Senior Foreign Policy Advisor Randy Scheunemann issued the following statement: 'The difference between John McCain and Barack Obama is that Barack Obama advocates an unconditional withdrawal that ignores the facts on the ground and the advice of our top military commanders. John McCain believes withdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground. Prime Minister Maliki has repeatedly affirmed the same view, and did so again today. Timing is not as important as whether we leave with victory and honor, which is of no apparent concern to Barack Obama. The fundamental truth remains that Senator McCain was right about the surge and Senator Obama was wrong. We would not be in the position to discuss a responsible withdrawal today if Senator Obama's views had prevailed.'"

The Obama campaign took the opportunity to attack McCain's positions on not only Iraq, but Afghanistan and Iran as well. Obama arrived in Iraq this morning: "The presumptive Democratic Party candidate discussed a number of matters with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, including the future of the U.S. military presence and the possibility of reducing troop numbers, Sawt al-Iraq news agency reported on its Arabic-language Web site."

A recent AP report, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: West Side Story, Matt Dillon, Bush Golf, Ryan O'Meara

Former Olympic skater Ryan O'Meara: I'm gay.

Madonna in bid to reunited Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake for her Sticky & Sweet tour. If that doesn't work, maybe Justin could just play both of them.

Bush to attend McCain golf fundraiser. FLASHBACK: "Playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

Sarah Jessica Parker whacked her mole.

Brisbane, Australia's gay, Aboriginal, and civil libertarian communities to march against Pope Benedict tomorrow: "We are protesting against the Pope's anti-queer, anti-abortion, anti-condom stance. The Pope is an extremely powerful and influential figure, who has called homosexuality 'an intrinsic moral evil', has said that abortion rights are a 'new holocaust', and who tells those in the midst of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa that contraception and sex education support a 'culture of death'."

Scores of Methodist ministers in California putting careers on the line to officiate same-sex weddings: "The pastors could lose their jobs and clerical credentials in the church, the nation's second-largest Protestant denomination. Ministers in Santa Monica, Claremont, Walnut Creek and other cities have already performed ceremonies for gays and lesbians or are planning to do so. In addition, 82 retired pastors in Northern California signed a resolution in June offering to perform such weddings on behalf of ministers who feel they can't do so themselves."

West Side Story revival to begin Broadway previews in 2009...

Barry Manilow: too thin?

Andrew Lloyd Webber reveals details of Phantom sequel at boozy UK bash.

Participants at the Anglican Lambeth Conference will be invited to take a walk on the gay side: "Peterson Toscano, who is also booked for the Edinburgh Festival and the Greenbelt Christian arts festival this summer, promises good humour and topicality when he takes to the stage at the Keynes Lecture Theatre at the University of Kent on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 July 2008, starting at 8pm. The lively theatrical performance activist will share his own spiritual story and experience, liberally sprinkled with excerpts from a play that tells how he survived the 'ex-gay' movement which has been encouraged in some Christian circles - 'Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House'. The performances will also include a 'question and answer' session."

Anti-gay protest at McDonald's goes pathetically.

Matt Dillon: open wide.

Afghanistan, Bid Laden first: The John McCain blunder nobody has discussed yet.

Al Gore to make ' moon shot' challenge on environment: "Just as John F. Kennedy set his sights on the moon, Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace...'I have never seen an opportunity for the country like the one that's emerging now,' Gore told The Associated Press in an interview previewing a speech on global warming he planned to give Thursday in Washington."

Dennis Kucinich's impeachment resolution moves forward, ever so slowly...

H&R Block offers $100 coupons or free TaxCut software to gay couples their software blocked from filing online: "Connecticut taxpayers Jason Smith and Settimio Pisu and the ACLU sent a demand letter last March to Block asking the tax preparer to stop penalizing gay couples because the software in use then didn’t support Connecticut civil union returns. Filers who encountered that problem were asked to contact a Block tax service office for help, for which higher fees were charged."

Army Concludes Lesbian's Mysterious Death in Afghanistan a Suicide

The investigation surrounding Ciara Durkin, a lesbian serving in Afghanistan whose mysterious death (she was found with a single bullet in her head, lying near the church where she worshipped on the secure Bagram Airfield) spurred calls for investigation from Massachusetts (her home state) Senator John Kerry, has concluded, according to her family, and it doesn't sound like they buy it:

They released a statement on their website: "The Durkin family has received the Army's final report into Ciara's death, with their conclusion that she took her own life. We are very upset and saddened by their conclusion. We have borne an extraordinary amount of pain over the past nine months, compounded by a protracted and at times ambiguous investigation. We now need time and privacy to grieve and let our Ciara finally rest in peace. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.