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From George to Barack: A Look at Secret Bush Memos to the Obama Team, New York Times

February 14, 2023

WHITE HOUSE MEMO

 

From George to Barack: A Look at Secret Bush Memos to the Obama Team

Newly declassified memos offer a window into how the world appeared as the Bush administration was winding down.
 

By Peter Baker

WASHINGTON — The world was a volatile place when President George W. Bush was leaving office. So on the way out the door, he and his national security team left a little advice for their successors:

India is a friend. Pakistan is not. Don’t trust North Korea or Iran, but talking is still better than not. Watch out for Russia; it covets the territory of its neighbor Ukraine. Beware becoming ensnared by intractable land wars in the Middle East and Central Asia. And oh yes, nation-building is definitely harder than it looks.... Read more about From George to Barack: A Look at Secret Bush Memos to the Obama Team, New York Times

United Nations advises staff against using ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ regarding Ukraine

March 8, 2022

Email on communications policy reminds worker of responsibility to ‘be impartial’
Tue, Mar 8, 2022, 13:02
Naomi O’Leary

People carry a wounded woman during the evacuation of Irpin, Ukraine
People carry a wounded woman during the evacuation by civilians of the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv. Photography: Getty

The United Nations’ Department of Global Communications instructed staff of the international organisation not to refer to the situation in Ukraine as a “war” or “invasion”, in a move to balance political sensitivities as powerful member state Russia cracks down domestically on those who use the words.... Read more about United Nations advises staff against using ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ regarding Ukraine

Memos Show Roots of Trump's Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors, New York Times, 2/2/22

February 4, 2022

Memos Show Roots of Trump’s Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors

By Alan Feuer, Maggie Haberman and Luke Broadwater
Feb. 2, 2022

Just over two weeks after Election Day, lawyers working with the Trump campaign set out a rationale for creating alternate slates of electors as part of an effort to buy time to overturn the results.

Fifteen days after Election Day in 2020, James R. Troupis, a lawyer for the Trump campaign in Wisconsin, received a memo setting out what became the rationale for an audacious...

Read more about Memos Show Roots of Trump's Focus on Jan. 6 and Alternate Electors, New York Times, 2/2/22

The New York Times 10/2/21 "Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says

October 4, 2021

Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says

In an internal memo meant to pre-empt a “60 Minutes” interview, Facebook defended itself and said that social media was not a primary cause of polarization.

Nick Clegg FaceBook VP Memo 10_2_21
Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of policy and global affairs, in 2019. On Friday, he sent a memo to employees to pre-empt a whistle-blower’s accusations.Credit...Stefan Rousseau/PA via Associated Press

By Mike Isaac

... Read more about The New York Times 10/2/21 "Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says

CNN 9/27/21 "Memos from Milley Show Timeline of Communications Between Trump's Defense Department and Chinese Officials

September 27, 2021

cnn_9_27_21_gen_milley_press_with_mask
(Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times/Pool/AP)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley submitted two unclassified memos to the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding phone calls he had with his Chinese counterpart during the final months of the Trump administration.... Read more about CNN 9/27/21 "Memos from Milley Show Timeline of Communications Between Trump's Defense Department and Chinese Officials

"New York Times" Opinion Guest Essay: "Donald Rumsfeld's Fog of Memos" by Errol Morris

July 3, 2021

By Errol Morris
Mr. Morris is the director of a 2013 film about Donald Rumsfeld, “The Unknown Known.”

Rumsfeld & Ford_1968_House of Rep

Trying to understand another human being is often a dismal task. And if not dismal, thankless. What am I supposed to do? Disapprove of Donald Rumsfeld? That’s easy. Perhaps too easy. He was ambitious, driven — also lucky. And, as we all know, he was one of the chief architects of the disastrous war in Iraq.

It is impossible for me to write about Mr. Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense who died on Tuesday, without writing about his memos.... Read more about "New York Times" Opinion Guest Essay: "Donald Rumsfeld's Fog of Memos" by Errol Morris

1/16/2020 Memo from Incoming White House Chief of Staff - First Ten Days of the Biden Administration

January 20, 2021

By Blue Virginia.us From the Biden-Harris transition team:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2021

Memo from Incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain to Incoming White House Senior Staff on the First Ten Days of the Administration

From: Ron Klain, Chief of Staff
To: Incoming White House Senior Staff
Re: Overview of First Ten Days
Date: January 16, 2021

... Read more about 1/16/2020 Memo from Incoming White House Chief of Staff - First Ten Days of the Biden Administration