Iraq in civil war, says former PM  —  Iraq is in the middle of civil war, the country's former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has told the BBC.  —  He said Iraq had not got to the point of no return, but if it fell apart sectarianism would spread abroad.

The Stuff That Happened  —  Three years ago, the United States invaded Iraq.  We can all run the story through our minds: Shock and Awe, Coalition of the Willing, Mission Accomplished, looting, "Stuff happens," no W.M.D., suicide bombers, purple fingers, blasted shrine.

Congressman Doolittle, wife profited from Cunningham-linked contractor  —  Commissions taken on campaign cash  —  A week before former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham was sentenced to prison, he stressed to the court that a number of other lawmakers also helped arrange federal funding for the defense contractors who bribed him.

Republican 2006 Strategy Will Be To Define Foes And "Change The Subject"  —  Independent voters, those who believe elections are job performance reviews, and those who want to see the quality of political debate elevated in this country will not be heartened by a piece by Fred Barnes detailing …

A Top-Down Review for the Pentagon  —  DURING World War II, American soldiers en route to Britain before D-Day were given a pamphlet on how to behave while awaiting the invasion.  The most important quote in it was this: "It is impolite to criticize your host; it is militarily stupid to criticize your allies."

Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity  —  An Afghan man who recently admitted he converted to Christianity faces the death penalty under the country's strict Islamic legal system.  The trial is a critical test of Afghanistan's new constitution and democratic government.

Wanted: A Few Good Sperm  —  One day last October, Karyn, a 39-year-old executive, pulled her online dating profile off JDate and Match.com, two sites she had been using, along with an endless series of leads, tips and blind dates arranged by friends and colleagues, to search for a man she wanted to marry and raise a family with.

Lobbyists Foresee Business As Usual  —  Post-Abramoff Rules Expected to Be Merely a Nuisance  —  Some of Washington's top lobbyists say that they expect to find ways around congressional efforts to impose new restrictions on lobbyists' dealings with lawmakers in the wake …

Let's Play Strategery  —  Ryan Lizza isn't a complete idiot, his piece on Gold Bars Luskin is the best I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed his portrait of McCain's unprincipled backdown from the steel-caged death match with Grover Norquist now that he's eyeing the white house.

Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?  —  HUNDREDS of feet above Manhattan, the reception area of Proskauer Rose's headquarters boasts all of the muscular, streamlined ornamentation that symbolizes authority and power in a big city law firm — modern art, contemporary furniture …

Ministers of Debate  —  Correction Appended  —  The slogan of Lynchburg, Va., is engraved on the tile floor of its modest airport: "The most interesting spot in the state."  This was the assessment of an early resident of Lynchburg, Thomas Jefferson, who also suggested that someday Lynchburg would be a great metropolis.

Camp Nama  —  There are a several very strange items floating in today's front page New York Times piece on Camp Nama, the torture chamber run by Special Operations forces at Baghdad airport.  —  Consider: American soldiers treated prisoners so viciously that even the CIA blanched …

COME WITH FLOWERS  —  After a flawed — to say the least — referendum in 2004 to allow for unlimited consecutive presidential candidacies, Dictator Alexander Lukashenko is running for the third time for president again today.  People will go to the polls, voting without freedom of conscience …

Clear and Present Dangers  —  Four decades ago, Kevin Phillips, a young political strategist for the Republican Party, began work on what became a remarkable book.  In writing "The Emerging Republican Majority" (published in 1969), he asked a very big question about American politics …

On 3rd Anniversary: Editorials Dither While Iraq Burns  —  Anyone who hoped that this landmark would inspire the country¿s leading newspapers to finally editorialize for a radical change in war policy has to be disappointed, again.  Calling for "urgent diplomacy" is about as strong as the proposals get.

Texas legislators take issue with O'Connor's warnings  —  WASHINGTON - Now that she's left the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor has a few things to get off her chest.  One of the first was to warn that the nation could slide into dictatorship if harsh critiques of the judiciary …