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.

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.

Bush makes surprise Afghanistan visit  —  KABUL (Reuters) - President George W. Bush began his first visit to South Asia on Wednesday with a surprise stop over in Afghanistan, where thousands of American troops are still engaged in hunting down the architects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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 …

Anti-Jihad Manifesto Misses the Point  —  Today twelve international authors, most of them (former) Muslims, such as Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, but also a couple of "French philosophers," published a manifesto in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

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 …

WE ARE ALL BIGOTS NOW  —  Last week, I wrote "They are all profilers now"—mocking Democrats for their expedient embrace of profiling to exploit the ports fiasco.  This week, I'm sick of conservatives playing the race card to attack skeptics of the ports deal.  From my syndicated column today:

The End of Fukuyama  —  Why his latest pronouncements miss the mark.  —  I have a feeling that last week was a disappointing one for Francis Fukuyama, whose essay "After Neoconservatism" (adapted from his upcoming book America at the Crossroads) was awarded seven pages in the Feb. 19 New York Times Magazine.

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.

Howard Dean's Devastating Four-Point Plans  —  In a Tuesday speech before the Annual Conference of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Democratic Party National Chairman Howard Dean criticized the Bush Administration's defense policy, saying, "this is the weakest Administration on defense that we've seen in many, many years."

al-Qaeda's Foreign Fighters in Iraq  —  The pros & cons of al-Qaeda funneling both novice and experienced jihadis into Iraq  —  In the wake of the destruction of the dome of the Golden Mosque and the ensuing unrest, al-Qaeda in Iraq is hard at work with a suicide bombing campaign designed to increase the sectarian divide within Iraq.

Shays says he intends to vote for Lieberman  —  STAMFORD, Conn. —Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays said Tuesday that he plans to vote this year for Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman and encouraged other GOP officials to endorse the three-term senator.  —  Shays, R-4th District …

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 …

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 …

Oklahoma Bomb Squader Says Hinrichs Did Not Intend to Kill Self; Anti-Personnel Materials Found in His Apartment, Notes Describe AP Bomb Experiment  —  Oklahoma Bomb Squader Says Hinrichs Did Not Intend to Kill Self; Anti-Personnel Materials Found in His Apartment, Notes Describe AP Bomb Work

Former Conyers aides press ethics complaints  —  Two former aides to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) have alleged that he repeatedly violated House ethics rules.  —  Deanna Maher, a former deputy chief of staff in Conyers's Detroit office, and Sydney Rooks, a former legal counsel in the district office …

Giant squid grabs London audience  —  One of the biggest and most complete giant squids ever found is on display at London's Natural History Museum.  —  Measuring a monstrous 8.62m (28ft), the animal was caught off the coast of the Falkland Islands by a trawler.

House Republicans could see 10 to 15 more retirements  —  House Republicans have limited most of their retirements to conservatives in solidly red districts and a handful of statewide-office seekers, but political analysts say 10 to 15 more Republicans could announce in the coming months that they are stepping down.

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.