Current Events and the Psychology of Politics
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Oct 11th, 2008

Summary: On the 32nd day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that the Bush administration had removed North Korea from its “state sponsors of terrorism” blacklist. He also posted a daily summary of security incidents in Iraq.



On the 31st day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that a pending National Intelligence Estimate will conclude that Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and that U.S. intelligence agencies doubt that the Kabul government has the ability to stem the rise of the Taliban, citing widespread corruption inside President Hamid Karzai’s government, an increase in attacks by militants operating out of Pakistan, and a general breakdown of central government authority in Afghanistan.


Oct 9th, 2008

Summary: On the 30th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on efforts by the U.S. and Iraq to hammer out a status-of-forces agreement amid meddling by Iran and rifts among Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish factions in the Iraqi government.


Oct 8th, 2008

Summary: On the 29th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, republished an Oct. 8, 2002 open letter by Michael Livingston outlining why the invasion of Iraq would be a mistake on both rational and moral grounds.


Oct 7th, 2008

Summary: On the 28th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, examined the differences between presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain with respect to handling the war in Iraq.


Oct 6th, 2008

Summary: On the 27th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that the U.S. Army was unveiling a new doctrine that foresees nation-building missions as becoming more important than conventional warfare; defines “fragile states” that breed crime, terrorism, and religious and ethnic strife as the greatest threat to U.S. national security; and holds that American troops in future will be less likely to engage in major ground combat against hostile states as they did in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead being called upon more often to operate in lawless areas to safeguard populations and rebuild countries.


Oct 5th, 2008

Summary: On the 26th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that the senior British commander in Afghanistan had said that a decisive military victory in Afghanistan was impossible and that the objective in Afghanistan should be to achieve a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat. He also reported on a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan and ongoing violence in Iraq.


Oct 4th, 2008

Summary: On the 25th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported the killing of a senior al-Qaida in Iraq bombing mastermind, the withdrawal of Polish forces from Iraq, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s first public appearance in more than a month amid speculation about his health.


Oct 3rd, 2008

On the 24th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported that the U.N. had declared the Pakistani capital of Islamabad unsafe for the children of its international staff, putting the once tranquil city on par with the capitals of Afghanistan and Somalia. He also reported that the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, had called for more troops to stem the deteriorating security situation.


Oct 2nd, 2008

Summary: On the 23rd day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, provided an October 2008 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. He also reported on suicide bombings at two Shiite mosques in Baghdad that killed 24 people and wounded more than 50, a missile strike by a suspected U.S. drone in the northwest Pakistan tribal region near the Afghan border, ongoing violence in Iraq, and the reduction of U.S. military deaths in Iraq as Iraqi security forces increasingly take the lead in counterinsurgency operations.