Bush Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan on Way to India  —  NEW DELHI, March 1 — President Bush made a surprise five-hour visit to Afghanistan today to meet with President Hamid Karzai and to see for the first time the country created after the United States went to war against the Taliban …

Tape: Bush, Chertoff Warned Before Katrina  —  WASHINGTON - In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, put lives at risk in New Orleans' Superdome …

Iraq on the Brink  —  Iraq has moved perilously close to civil war.  Everyone who knows anything about the tortured history of that country, cobbled together from disparate parts by British colonial officials less than a century ago, has always dreaded such an outcome.

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.

Alleged rape victim threatened with jail  —  A Naperville woman who on Tuesday refused a judge's order to view a videotape of her alleged rape could be jailed on a contempt of court charge if she does not change her mind Wednesday, and the judge is considering a request to drop sexual assault charges against the Burr Ridge man on trial.

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 …

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.

Ex-Taliban can learn from Yale experience  —  I was more than a little puzzled to see the self-satisfied mug of Rahmatullah Hashemi '09 smiling at me from the front of the News on Monday.  The last time I saw that Cheshire grin was in Michael Moore's otherwise manipulative "Fahrenheit 9/11 …

Miss. House committee votes to ban most abortions  —  JACKSON, Miss. - A Mississippi House committee voted Tuesday to ban most abortions in the state - an unexpected move that left abortion opponents grappling to stake out a position on a proposal that could prompt a lengthy court battle.

Study: Few Americans Know 1st Amendment  —  CHICAGO - Americans apparently know more about "The Simpsons" than they do about the First Amendment.  —  Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press …

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.

Oklahoma Bomb Squader Says Hinrichs Did Not Intend to Kill Self; Anti-Personnel Materials Found in His Apartment, Notes Describe AP Bomb Work  —  Today's edition of The Daily Oklahoman has a front-page story quoting a member of the Norman, Oklahoma bomb squad saying he believes Joel Hinrichs …

Play About Demonstrator's Death Is Delayed  —  A potential Off Broadway production of "My Name Is Rachel Corrie," an acclaimed solo show about an American demonstrator killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to stop the destruction of a Palestinian home, has been postponed because of concerns about the show's political content.

The House's Catholic Democrats Detail Role Religion Plays  —  Still reeling from the attacks on Sen. John F. Kerry's brand of Roman Catholicism during the 2004 presidential race, 55 House Democrats issued a joint statement yesterday on the central role that the Catholic faith plays in their public lives.