My Ideal War  —  How the international community should have responded to Bush's September 2002 U.N. speech.  —  Up until now, I have resisted all urges to assume the mantle of generalship and to describe how I personally would have waged a campaign to liberate Iraq.

President Discusses War on Terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom  —  Fact Sheet: Strategy for Victory: Clear, Hold, and Build  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Thank you all.  Please be seated.  Sanjiv, thanks for the introduction.  He called me on the phone and said, listen …

FBI Was Warned About Moussaoui  —  Agent Tells Court Of Repeated Efforts Before 9/11 Attacks  —  An FBI agent who interrogated Zacarias Moussaoui before Sept. 11, 2001, warned his supervisors more than 70 times that Moussaoui was a terrorist and spelled out his suspicions that the al-Qaeda operative …

The New New Gore  —  Five years ago, Al Gore was the much-mocked pol who blew a gimme with his stiff demeanor and know-it-all style.  Today?  C'mon, admit it: You like him again.  —  The most important speech of Al Gore's post-non-presidency was neither well-covered nor particularly dramatic.

Did Marines Commit Crime in Iraq Civilian Deaths?  —  Prompted by Video and Magazine, Military Investigates Incident in Which 15 Iraqis Died, Including Children  —  WASHINGTON, March 19, 2006 — A bloody videotape shot by a local Iraqi journalism student has prompted the Pentagon to launch …

A 'Third Term' for Bush  —  Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove need new jobs.  —  It's time for President Bush to think about a third term.  No, he doesn't need to overturn the Constitution.  He can start the equivalent of his third term now, by filling his presidential staff and cabinet …

Banker Granted Retrial in a Case From 90's Boom  —  A federal appeals court yesterday overturned the obstruction-of-justice conviction of Frank P. Quattrone, the investment banker who rose to prominence in the 1990's technology boom, and granted him a new trial.

SMALL GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES....Atrios is right.  Andrew Sullivan is just being incoherent here in his defense of his own conservatism: … Bush's tax cuts haven't touched Social Security or Medicare taxes (and both programs run surpluses anyway).  They've been solely cuts in personal …

Old Forecasts Come Back to Haunt Bush  —  Erosion in Confidence Will Be Hard To Reverse, Say Pollsters, Strategists  —  Three years of upbeat White House assessments about Iraq that turned out to be premature, incomplete or plain wrong are complicating President Bush's efforts to restore public faith …

Afghan Faces Death Penalty for Converting to Christianity  —  Judge Says He Could Escape Punishment If He's Ruled Insane  —  By GRETCHEN PETERS and LARA SETRAKIAN, with reporting by BILAL SARWARY  —  KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20, 2006 — Despite the overthrow of the fundamentalist Taliban government …

V For Vendetta: If Noam Chomsky And Osama Bin Laden Collaborated On A Movie...  (*** Note: On the one hand, there are lots of spoilers in this review.  On the other hand, the film was terrible.  Thumbs way, way, down.  So, it's probably no big deal if you read the review because you're not going to want to see the movie anyway.

LET'S FINISH IT AND WIN  —  I think Ann Althouse has the answer to why Bush's low poll numbers don't translate to anything particularly positive for the Democrats: … As most of my readers are aware, I am a staunch supporter of the Iraq war.  If I have any dissatisfaction at all it is precisely …

2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army  —  SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patrick K. Tillman stood outside his law office here, staring intently at a yellow house across the street, just over 70 yards away.  That, he recalled, is how far away his eldest son, Pat …

Peace just a breath away, says Sharon Stone  —  A peaceful co-existence between the peoples of the Middle East is but a breath away, Hollywood star Sharon Stone said after a highly publicized visit to Israel.  —  "It feels to me that we have an opportunity ... to choose understanding in a new way …