IRAN -- BUSH MAY BE SEEKING TO USE BASES IN IRAQ FOR STRIKE AGAINST IRAN: Despite vocal and fierce opposition by some of Iraq's top politicians to his plan to establish permanent bases in Iraq, President Bush yesterday expressed confidence the plan would go through. He dismissed the opposition as the "noise" of a freer Iraq society and insisted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "appreciates our presence there." "I think we'll get the agreement done," Bush said. Media accounts indicate that the White House's determination to finalize the deal may have more to do with Iran than Iraq. The Bush administration is reportedly seeking "the power to determine if a hostile act from another country is aggression against Iraq," a provision that would allow the United States to brand Iran an enemy of Iraq and attack Iran in the name of defending Iraq. Bush is also seeking "the prerogative for U.S. forces to conduct operations without approval from the Iraqi government." Additionally, the U.S. determination to control Iraqi airspace "added to concerns that the United States was preparing to use Iraq as a base to attack Iran." 

RADICAL RIGHT -- COBURN PLACES HOLD ON HIV/AIDS PREVENTION LEGISLATION: The Senate has introduced a bipartisan bill to triple funding for President Bush's program to fight HIV/AIDS. The $50 billion budget over five years would go toward the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is set to expire in September. The legislation, however, is being held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and six other conservative senators who object to the fact that the program would direct most of the spending to the "prevention" of HIV/AIDS, rather than just "treatment." The treatment of HIV/AIDS-infected individuals is "the No. 1 prevention protocol we have," argued Coburn.  Coburn may be an obstetrician, but he is out of the mainstream with other medical professionals on this issue, who say that focusing on treatment as a form of prevention is short-sighted and ineffective. "The prevention effect of treatment is not likely to be anywhere near the magnitude of prevention through prevention," including safe-sex education and condom distribution, said Mead Over, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. Coburn has a habit of blocking bills funding medical research, and his record on health care is abysmal. Coburn has repeatedly blocked legislation funding breast cancer research, doing so as recently as April. He also held up funding to screen returning veterans for signs of suicide risk. In 2005, he proclaimed that silicone breast implants "make you healthier." 

CONGRESS -- CONSERVATIVES NARROWLY BLOCK UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS BILL: Yesterday, the House of Representatives fell three votes shy of passing a bill that would extend unemployment insurance benefits by 13 weeks, while giving 26 to citizens living in states with unemployment rates higher than 6 percent. The bill, which was brought to the floor under an expedited floor procedure and needed two-thirds of the House for approval, failed by a vote of 279 to 144, with 49 Republicans voting in favor. The legislation was introduced in response to last month's jump in unemployment to 5.5 percent, the largest one-month jump since 1986. The White House had promised a veto unless extended benefits were targeted "to high-unemployment states alone." Proponents of the bill "argued that the 8.5 million already unemployed should not have to wait for things to get worse before the federal government helps them." "These millions count on us to do the right thing and respond when they are in need," said Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). House Democrats plan to reintroduce the bill today, when it will need only a simple majority to pass.

As Bush arrived in Italy yesterday for meetings with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Pope Benedict XVI, he was greeted by hundreds of anti-war activists and other demonstrators who marched through the capital. The AP writes that these protests show "anti-Bush sentiment over the war in Iraq still lingers."

A new WSJ/NBC poll finds that, increasingly, voters don't like President Bush personally. "By 60% to 30%, they have negative views of him, his worst showing ever." By a majority of 54 percent to 42 percent, "voters say they'd prefer a president 'who will bring greater changes' over one who is ‘more experienced and tested.'"

Despite fierce opposition by Iraqis to his call for a long-term occupation of Iraq, President Bush yesterday expressed confidence that a status of forces agreement would pass. "Bush said that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 'appreciates our presence there'" and suggested much of the opposition "is based on inaccurate media reports and misunderstandings."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) "said he's not going to let his effort to impeach President Bush die a quiet death in committee. He said Wednesday that he'll bring his resolution back in 30 days if the Judiciary Committee...doesn't act on it." "In 30 days, I'll be joined by many more" members, he said.

"As Bush travels across Europe to gain support for possible new sanctions against Iran, Israeli leaders have been working to lay the psychological foundation for a possible military strike if diplomacy falters. In public threats and private briefings with American decision-makers, Israeli officials have been making the case that a military strike may be the only way to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions."

Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are expected to introduce legislation today that would close "loopholes that lobbyists for foreign clients sometimes use to keep their activities under wraps." The bill would "require those who meet with American officials outside the country on behalf of foreign politicians to register as lobbyists, a step that existing law does not require."

A CNN investigation has found "FEMA gave away about $85 million in household goods meant for Hurricane Katrina victims." FEMA said, "We determined that they were excess to FEMA's needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA's inventory." But Martha Kegel, the head of a New Orleans nonprofit agency, responded, "These are the very things that we are seeking right now."

And finally: June seems to be music month on Capitol Hill. On Monday, the House passed legislation honoring recently deceased blues legend Bo Diddley. On Tuesday, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) "introduced a resolution to make September 'Gospel Music Heritage Month,'" and Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) proposed "a bill honoring country singer Toby Keith's commitment to the armed forces. "Although the troops have been hearing his hit 'I Love this Bar,' our office is so proud of our hometown hero that we hope he’ll be singing, 'I love this bill,'" Cole's spokeswoman said.