Today’s edition of quick hits:
* What to expect tonight: “President Obama plans to announce Wednesday evening that he will order the withdrawal of 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan this year, and another 20,000 troops, the remainder of the 2009 “surge,” by the end of next summer…. The president is scheduled to speak about the Afghanistan war from the White House at 8 p.m. Eastern time.”
* Syria is not responding well to EU sanctions: “The Syrian regime, besieged by street protests at home and condemnation abroad, on Wednesday lashed out at European governments for threatening a new round of sanctions and accused the West of trying to sow chaos and conflict in the Arab nation.”
* A coalition of Saudi activists urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to criticize Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving. Yesterday, she did.
* Ban Ki-moon received unanimous support from the U.N. General Assembly to serve a second term as secretary-general. The South Korean diplomat will stay at his current post for another five years.
* If you haven’t already read it, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” from Pulitzer prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas is an extraordinary piece of work.
* Speaking of the amazing Vargas piece, it’s worth noting that the Washington Post had it, but didn’t want it. It’s a mistake the paper has to regret now.
* Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) goes after Attorney General Eric Holder on trials for suspected terrorists. McConnell’s shots aren’t just wrong; they’re cheap and unbecoming of someone in his position.
* The Washington Post‘s in-house fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, was all set to scrutinize the substantive claims in Jon Huntsman’s campaign kick-off speech. Then Kessler realized Huntsman didn’t make any substantive claims.
* It’s early, but Keith Olbermann’s debut on Current TV seems to be off to a good start, ratings wise.
* When community college students can’t get loans, it’s a problem.
* And if Republican lawmakers want to prove they’re “pro-women,” they’re going to have to do better than this.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
