Top Items:
The Australian:
Sunnis and Sadr's Shiites make peace — THE movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, alleged to have played a role in the anti-Sunni violence over the last few days, publicly made peace with political and religious Sunni leaders overnight. — Four sheikhs from the Sadr movement made a …
Discussion:
Back to Iraq 3.0
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Omar / IRAQ THE MODEL:
Curfew extended in Baghdad and three other provinces. — The defense minister in a press conference currently on Iraqi TV gave statistics to correct what he described as "exaggerated media reports" about civilian casualties and attacks on mosques since the attack on the Samarra shrine:
New York Times:
Sectarian Bloodshed Reveals Strength of Iraq Militias — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 24 — The sectarian violence that has shaken Iraq this week has demonstrated the power that the many militias here have to draw the country into a full-scale civil war, and how difficult it would be for the state to stop it, Iraqi and American officials say.
Robert F. Worth / New York Times:
Muslim Clerics Call for an End to Iraqi Rioting — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 24 — With the streets of the capital and other major cities largely emptied by an extraordinary daytime curfew, imams across Iraq called Friday for an end to the sectarian rioting that has left more than 170 people dead …
Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
What Civil War Could Look Like — TWO days of mob violence last week after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine did not simply aggravate Iraq's sectarian hatreds. Like a near-death experience, the carnage seems to have shocked Sunni and Shiite leaders into a new realization of what civil war would cost, and new efforts to avoid it.
CNN:
Pentagon: Iraqi troops downgraded — No Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The only Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support has been downgraded to a level requiring them to fight with American troops backing them up, the Pentagon said Friday.
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Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Prepare the noose for Bill Buckley, the Cowardly Traitor — (updated below) — An important and long-overlooked point about the depravity, corruption and truly un-American impulses which define so many Bush followers is revealed by a comparison of these two statements: — Howard Dean, December 5, 2005
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White House:
President Addresses American Legion, Discusses Global War on Terror — Washington, D.C. — In Focus: Veterans — In Focus: National Security — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. (Applause.) Thanks for the warm welcome. Mr. Commander, thank you for letting me come …
Discussion:
Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Democrat Taylor Marsh …, NewDonkey.com, Blogs for Bush and Bring it On!
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Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Former Aide to Cheney Gains Access to His Notes — WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 — I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney who is charged with lying to investigators about his role in the disclosure of the identity of a C.I.A. officer, won the right Friday to review …
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Toni Locy / Associated Press:
Update 4: Identity of Official to Be Kept From Libby — Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, charged with perjury in the CIA leak case, cannot be told the identity of another government official who is said to have divulged a CIA operative's identity to reporters, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Walter Pincus / Washington Post:
U.S. Intelligence Agencies Backed Dubai Port Deal — Reviews by U.S. intelligence agencies supported Dubai Ports World's purchase of the British company running terminals at six American seaports, and the assessments were made available to the Treasury Department-run interagency committee …
Discussion:
Thoughts from Kansas
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New York Times:
Silenced by Islamist Rage — With every new riot over the Danish cartoons, it becomes clearer that the protests are no longer about the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, but about the demagoguery of Islamic extremists. The demonstrators are undeniably outraged by what they perceive as blasphemy.
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Alexandra von Maltzan / All Things Beautiful:In The Line Of Fire — Many of us have bitterly complained …
Discussion:
bluestarchronicles …
Michelle Malkin:
RICIN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS — Yeah, it's weird. — Reuters: … The powder was packed in a roll of quarters, opened by a student doing her laundry. — Chronology of events in the US and elsewhere involving ricin. — Feb 2004: Letter With Ricin Vial Sent To White House...and to office of Sen. Bill Frist.
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Glenn Harlan Reynolds / Wall Street Journal:
Early Warning System — Technology is empowering ordinary people in all sorts of ways. The blogosphere has demonstrated the ability to process information more quickly and thoroughly than other media in the past. The debate over the acquisition of American port operations contracts …
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Ted Bridis / Associated Press:
Homeland Security Objected to Ports Deal — WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company's taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent.
New York Times:
An Afghan Prison Expands, Filling Guantánamo's Role — While an international debate rages over the future of the American detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the military has quietly expanded another, less-visible prison in Afghanistan, where it now holds some 500 terror suspects …
Ralph Blumenthal / New York Times:
1 Cafe, 1 Gas Station, 2 Roads: America's Emptiest County — MENTONE, Tex. — How empty is Loving County? — So empty that when Sheriff Billy Burt Hopper ran for office in 2004, he and his opponent attended each other's campaign barbecues. So empty that it cannot sustain two political parties …
