Iraq Debate Opens in Washington

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The long-awaited Iraq debate has arrived. Prepare to be bombarded with official opinion on all sides. Over the next two weeks, there will be no fewer than 12 congressional hearings assessing the state of things in America’s fifty-first state.

This week, Congress will review two new reports. The first, by the GAO, will look at Iraq’s progress on political and security benchmarks; the second, by Marine General James Jones, will examine the training and capabilities of Iraqi security forces. The forecast is gloomy in each case. The reports will prepare the rhetorical battlefield for next week’s main event: the testimony of Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus on the effects of the ‘surge.’

As the political battle is joined in Washington, Mother Jones will be there. Check the MoJoBlog for our coverage. A list of events already on the schedule:

Tuesday, September 4, 2007, 2pm: Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds an open hearing on the GAO report assessing the political and military progress in Iraq.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 10am: House Armed Services Committee holds an open hearing on the GAO report.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 2pm: House Foreign Affairs Committee holds an open hearing on the GAO report.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 9am: Joint House Armed Services/Foreign Affairs Committee holds an open hearing on “Beyond the September Reports: What’s Next for Iraq?”

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 10am: Senate Armed Services Committee holds an open hearing on Marine General James Jones report on training and capabilities of the Iraqi security forces.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 2:30pm: House Armed Services Committee holds an open hearing on report from Marine General James Jones with testimony from General Jones.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 2:30pm: Senate Intelligence Committee holds a CLOSED hearing on the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq.

Friday, September 7, 2007, 9am: Senate Armed Services Committee holds an open hearing on the GAO report.

Monday, September 10, 2007, 12:30pm: Joint House Armed Services/Foreign Affairs Committees holds an open hearing with U.S. Armed Forces Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on their report assessing the situation in Iraq.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007, Time TBD: Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds an open hearing with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on their report on Iraq.

September 12, 2007, Time TBD: Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Peter Pace.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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