The Afternoon Scoop - Andrew Sullivan on Obama's Accidental War

If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your Web browser.
To receive the text-only version of The Afternoon Scoop click here. Please add thedailybeast@e.thedailybeast.com to your address book.

APRIL 4, 2011

Obama's Accidental War With rebels failing to capture the oil town of Brega, a stalemate in Libya is looking increasingly likely. "My concern is that this war was begun without any serious, far-ranging discussion of what should happen after the massacre was prevented," blogs Andrew Sullivan on his first day of writing for The Daily Beast. The outcome, as Sullivan sees it, is likely to resemble the long period in between the two Iraq Wars, when Saddam Hussein clung to power despite sanctions and a no-fly zone. That, in turn, will increase pressure to intervene more directly. Read it at The Daily Beast Radioactive Water Dumped Into Sea Workers at Japan's stricken nuclear power plants have begun releasing about 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the sea in order to make room in storage tanks for more severely contaminated water. The water being released contains levels of iodine-131 more than 100 times the legal limit, but the government says it poses no immediate health risk. The water it's being released to make room for, on the other hand, is 100,000 times more radioactive than water in a normally functioning reactor. The contaminated water, left over from emergency attempts to cool the plant, must be removed so that workers can restore normal cooling functions, but it's not clear how the water can be removed or where it can be stored. The intentional release comes after Tokyo Electric Power Company failed to plug an eight-inch crack in a pit near the No. 2 reactor that has been leaking radioactive water directly into the sea. Health ministry official Taku Ohara says the government is considering drawing up radioactivity food-safety standards for fish after high levels of radiation were detected in a bottom-feeding fish off the coast. Read it at Los Angeles Times KSM Will Be Tried by Tribunal Not civilian court. Alleged Libyan Rape Victim Released With her family in Tripoli. Southwest Cancels Another 60 Flights As it investigates fuselage cracks. Swift, Lambert Dominate Country Music Awards Rihanna and Reese Witherspoon also take the stage. Sign up for The Yes List email, our weekly cultural recommendations. For more of The Daily Beast, become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Copyright© The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company LLC. All rights reserved. | 555 West 18th Street | New York, NY 10011