Salman Rushdie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali et al Slam Islamic Totalitarianism  —  This just in, stay tuned as the story develops.  I think we'll be seeing people die in the coming days.  You know, from "reactions"....  Update: This will be brought in the French weekly Charlie Hebdo tomorrow, Wednesday.

Intelligence agencies warned about growing local insurgency in late 2003  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence agencies repeatedly warned the White House beginning more than two years ago that the insurgency in Iraq had deep local roots, was likely to worsen and could lead to civil war …

Shiites Told: Leave Home Or Be Killed  —  Sunnis Force Evictions As Iraq Tensions Grow  —  BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 — Salim Rashid, 34, a Shiite laborer in an overwhelmingly Sunni Arab village 20 miles north of Baghdad, received his eviction notice Friday from a man at the door with a rocket launcher.

Gonzales Seeks to Clarify Testimony on Spying  —  Extent of Eavesdropping May Go Beyond NSA Work  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appeared to suggest yesterday that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance operations may extend beyond the outlines that the president acknowledged in mid-December.

Poll of troops in Iraq sees 72% support for withdrawal within a year  —  WASHINGTON — Seventy-two percent of troops on the ground in Iraq think U.S. military forces should get out of the country within a year, according to a Zogby poll released Tuesday.  —  The survey of 944 troops …

GOP Unease Spreads to Security Issues  —  Port Deal Among Challenges to What Has Been Bush's Strength  —  The first heading on the issues page of Rep. Mark Foley's Web site brags that he is "one of President Bush's strongest supporters in Congress."  The Florida Republican voted …

At War With Ourselves  —  We're winning in Iraq.  Let's not lose at home.  —  Last week the golden dome of the Askariya shrine in Samarra was blown apart.  Sectarian riots followed, and reprisals and deaths ensued.  Thugs and criminals came out of the woodwork to foment further violence.

President Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan  —  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — President Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday, flying here secretly to support its fledging government in the face of rising violence from al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

The trial just got interesting.  —  I was just about to leave home to work when I heard a big bang...  Uh, oh...I won't be able to reach the clinic today, I told Mohammed.  —  The explosion was probably less than a mile away so I knew the roads around us would be soon blocked.

Veterans Report Mental Distress  —  About a Third Returning From Iraq Seek Help  —  More than one in three soldiers and Marines who have served in Iraq later sought help for mental health problems, according to a comprehensive snapshot by Army experts of the psyches of men and women returning …

What the P.L.O. Has to Offer  —  MANY have argued that Hamas's winning of a decisive majority in the Palestinian Parliament provides yet another setback for peace and democracy in the Middle East.  Some have even suggested that it vindicates Israeli unilateralism.

Vermont Campaign Limits Get Cool Reception at Court  —  WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 — The Supreme Court displayed little appetite on Tuesday for making basic changes in its approach to campaign finance law, under which the government may place limits on political contributions but not on a candidate's spending.

FANTASY AT THE UN, AND IN PAKISTAN  —  The New York Times reports on a United Nations conference in Qatar that addressed—productively, no doubt—the Danish cartoon controversy.  —  The conference sounds like a travesty.  Here is the appalling Bishop Tutu: … "Imagine"?  "Imagine"?

THE SEWERS OF BABYLON  —  OUR Humvees splashed through troughs of sewage, between ponds of filth that covered several acres.  Shanties crowded on accidental islands fringed with stands of reeds.  A stall selling brilliant vegetables did a brisk business at the edge of the sludge.