Operation Swarmer Near Samarra  —  A joint U.S. & Iraq force launches large air assault operation; Iraqi military uniforms discovered  —  North-central Iraq has become a main focus in the fight against the insurgency.  In what is described as the "largest air assault operation since Operation Iraqi Freedom …

Clooney & Huffington's blog of war  —  George Clooney is spitting mad at Arianna Huffington - and the blogosphere is wobbling on its axis.  —  "She said some things that I won't share, but she did tell me that this could be bad for me - bad for my career.  Well, screw you!" …

Right-Wing Blocks Funding For Port Security, Disaster Preparedness  —  Moments ago, the House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment proposed by Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN) that would have provided $1.25 billion in desperately needed funding for port security and disaster preparedness.

Harris pledges to stay in Senate race  —  Katherine Harris ends the suspense and says she's still running against Sen. Bill Nelson, bolstered by a $10 million infusion of cash from her own pocket.  —  breinhard@MiamiHerald.com  —  WASHINGTON - A defiant Katherine Harris took …

WHAT DID WE KNOW AND WHEN DID WE KNOW IT?  —  Peggy Noonan asks whether conservatives should have known in 2000 that Bush would be a big spender—whether, that is, spending was always integral to compassionate conservatism.  My answer to this question has been a qualified yes.

IN SADDAM'S ARCHIVES  —  As Scott noted below, the government has finally begun making available a few of the many thousands of documents captured from Iraqi intelligence during and after the 2003 war.  Only a handful are now available on the Foreign Military Studies Office web site …

Lieberman Takes Issue With Lamont's Tone  —  U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman took issue Thursday with the tone of his Democratic opponent's campaign.  —  Ned Lamont formally announced Monday that he will oppose Lieberman for the party's nomination, becoming Lieberman's first Democratic challenger since …

FEC raises the stakes for blog bill  —  The Federal Election Commission (FEC) yesterday postponed a controversial decision on subjecting Internet political speech to campaign-finance regulations, raising the stakes for today's scheduled House vote on a bill that exempts all blogs, Web ads and other online communications.

Saddam Hussein maintained pretense of chemical arms to prevent Israeli attack  —  WASHINGTON - Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein pretended to have chemical weapons because, among other reasons, he feared that Israel might attack if it discovered he did not.

Scalia Rails Against the 'Judge-Moralist'  —  BOSTON — Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia railed against the era of the "judge-moralist," saying judges are no better qualified than "Joe Sixpack" to decide moral questions such as abortion and gay marriage.

Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next  —  The Minnesota Legislature is considering proposing a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.  Many opponents claim that definition is antiquated and discriminatory.

Cornered rats  —  There is a palpable increase in the level of extremism and desperation among Bush followers as the Commander in Chief's approval ratings fall lower and lower and as the views which Americans have of both him and his party become more hostile.

Senate Votes to Raise U.S. Debt Limit to Nearly $9 Trillion  —  WASHINGTON, March 16 — The Senate voted narrowly today to raise the national debt limit to nearly $9 trillion, averting what would have been the first default ever on United States Treasury notes and giving Democrats an opportunity …

Companies Fear Spread of March Madness  —  Web-Broadcast Games Seen as Threat to Productivity, Computer Systems  —  The NCAA men's basketball tournament begins today, and for the first time, every game of the 19-day ritual known as March Madness will be available live — and free — over the Internet.

THE FALLACI CODE  —  Oriana Fallaci asks: Is Muslim immigration to Europe a conspiracy?  —  In The Force of Reason, the controversial Italian journalist and novelist Oriana Fallaci illuminates one of the central enigmas of our time.  How did Europe become home to an estimated 20 million Muslims in a mere three decades?

So calling for a better plan is completely bogus.  It's only a red herring, a stinky distraction.  —  No, it is a serious question that deserves a serious answer.  If you are calling the Administration (of which I am no great supporter) criminally incompetent, that implies that there was some other plan …

Claude Allen's life sentence  —  Did the pressures of being a black conservative take a toll on the former Bush aide?  —  I WAS SHOCKED by the news about Claude A. Allen, the black former White House staffer whose rising star officially flamed out after he was arrested on charges of felony theft last week.

Bush Restates Terror Strategy  —  2002 Doctrine of Preemptive War Reaffirmed  —  President Bush issued a new national security strategy today reaffirming his doctrine of preemptive war against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, despite the troubled U.S. experience in Iraq.