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Charles Babington / Washington Post:
Hawkish Democrat Joins Call For Pullout — GOP Assails Murtha's Demand to Leave Iraq — The top House Democrat on military spending matters stunned colleagues yesterday by calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, while many congressional Democrats reacted defiantly …
Discussion:
OxBlog, The Sideshow, Nitpicker, Wonkette, AMERICAblog, Air America Radio and The Democratic Daily Blog
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Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Hawkish Democrat Calls for Iraq Pullout — WASHINGTON - One of Congress' most hawkish and influential Democrats called Thursday for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, sparking bitter and personal salvos from both sides in a growing Capitol Hill uproar over President Bush's war policies.
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Iraq Dogs President as He Crosses Asia to Promote Trade — PUSAN, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 18 - President Bush may have come to Asia determined to show leaders here that his agenda is far broader than Iraq and terrorism, but at every stop, and every day, Mr. Bush and his aides have been fighting …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
An Unlikely Lonesome Dove — In his 37 years in the military, John Murtha won two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat "V," and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. As a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania for the past 31 years, he has been a fierce hawk, championing conflicts in Central America and the Persian Gulf.
Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS... The Honorable John P Murtha, D Pa, is concerned for me:
Discussion:
Instapundit.com, Hugh Hewitt, protein wisdom, The Mahablog, Gateway Pundit, The Carpetbagger Report, No End But Victory and TAPPED
Jim / Jim Lowney Photo:
Party Like It's 1999 — A little corvid out in Reno mentioned yesterday that the mad Aussie journo Tim Blair was back in the Big Apple. I hadn't smoked cigarettes and swilled Chardonnay with Mr. Blair since we covered the Axis of Ass during last year's Republican convention.
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New York Times:
Not Since Deep Throat Has a Woodward Source Held So Many — WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 - Not since Bob Woodward of The Washington Post refused to divulge the identity of Deep Throat has the capital been so riveted over one of Mr. Woodward's sources. This time, three decades after Watergate …
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James Glanz / New York Times:
Issuing Contracts, Ex-Convict Took Bribes in Iraq, U.S. Says — A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served prison time for felony fraud in the 1990's.
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Mark Sherman / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:American charged in Iraq scheme an ex-con
Discussion:
Patridiot Watch
ITV:
'Cheney is vice president for torture' — A former CIA director has exclusively told ITV News that torture is condoned and even approved by the Bush government. — The devastating accusations have been made by Admiral Stansfield Turner who labelled Dick Cheney "a vice president for torture".
New York Times:
SPEAKERS: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE KAY GRANGER (R-TX) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GEOFF DAVIS (R-KY) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CONAWAY (R-TX) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R-FL) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM TANCREDO (R-CO) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID DREIER (R-CA)
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Alex Johnson / MSNBC:
Americans less enchanted as sole superpower — Americans' appetite for world leadership has waned significantly since before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, with more than two-fifths saying the United States should mind its own business, according to a major new survey released Thursday.
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister
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Lorie Byrd / Michelle Malkin:
DISGRACEFUL AND JUST PLAIN DUMB — Was once in thirty years not enough? Like the deadly black mold in New Orleans, the calls to cut and run in Iraq are spreading. … I thought that Ted Kennedy had already called for immediate withdrawal a while back. He is certainly a senior lawmaker.
Discussion:
The Reaction, The Counterterrorism Blog, The Huffington Post, Reuters, dreier.house.gov and GOP and the City
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Telegraph:
I took Saddam's cash, admits French envoy — By Francis Harris in Washington and David Rennie in Brussels — One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday.
Guardian:
Simon Tisdall and Ewen MacAskill — Iran is facing political paralysis as its newly elected president purges government institutions, bringing accusations that he is undertaking a coup d'état. — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's clearout of his opponents began last month but is more sweeping …
BBC:
Dutch MP to make gay Islam film — A Somali-born Dutch MP who collaborated on the film that led to the murder of director Theo van Gogh has written a sequel, about Islam's attitude to gays. — Ayaan Hirsi Ali received death threats after her work on Submission, a film about Islam's treatment of women.
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Damien Cave / New York Times:
Vital Military Jobs Go Unfilled, Study Says — The military is falling far behind in its effort to recruit and re-enlist soldiers for some of the most vital combat positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new government report. — The report, completed by the Government Accountability Office …
Dana Priest / Washington Post:
Foreign Network at Front of CIA's Terror Fight — Joint Facilities in Two Dozen Countries Account for Bulk of Agency's Post-9/11 Successes — The CIA has established joint operation centers in more than two dozen countries where U.S. and foreign intelligence officers work side by side …
Discussion:
www.AndrewSullivan.com
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
In Loss for G.O.P., House Rejects Spending Plan — WASHINGTON, Friday, Nov. 18 - House Republican leaders were dealt a rare defeat Thursday as Democrats and 22 Republicans teamed up to kill a major health and education spending measure. — The 224-to-209 rejection of the $142.5 billion …
Discussion:
Eschaton
Bryan Preston / Michelle Malkin:
BROKEN RECORD — Democrat Rep. John Murtha said today that we can't win the war in Iraq. That would be news if he hadn't said the exact same thing a year ago. So today's speech wasn't as much a change of heart as a change of venue. — But it was enough to make Rod Dreher leave a big puddle on the floor.
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