Rumsfeld's Iraq-Germany analogy disputed  —  Former top officials disagree with comparison  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former top officials in two presidential administrations — one Democratic, one Republican — disagreed Sunday with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's characterization …

On Anniversary, Bush and Cheney See Iraq Success  —  WASHINGTON, March 19 — On the third anniversary of a war that they once expected to be over by now, President Bush and senior officials argued Sunday that their strategy was working despite escalating violence in Iraq …

Transcript for March 19  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday, March 19, 2003: The war in Iraq  —  begins with shock and awe.  Exactly three years later, millions have voted in free elections and a parliament have been seated.  But 2,300 Americans have been killed, more than 17,000 wounded and injured.

GOP Struggles To Define Its Message for 2006 Elections  —  Republican efforts to craft a policy and political agenda to carry the party into the midterm elections have stumbled repeatedly as GOP leaders face widespread disaffection and disagreement within the ranks.

Three Years of Dragging Democrats Through Their Iraqi Quagmire  —  "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction... Saddam may well hide his most lethal weapons in mosques, schools and hospitals.  If our forces attempt to strike such targets …

Anti-war protesters in SLC, elsewhere lament apathy  —  By the time the war protesters began their march Saturday morning in Salt Lake City, only about 50 people had gathered.  Their numbers had swelled to about 200 by noon - and that was with a little high-tech help from a marcher who text-messaged friends to join him.

A Contractor's Purchase on Power  —  Mitchell Wade's Cultivation of 'Duke' Cunningham Was Just One Part of His Tactical Assault for MZM  —  The consulting work that MZM Inc. received from a Pentagon agency in 2003 was for only $40,000, but to company owner Mitchell J. Wade, the face value was just the beginning.

Changing Public Opinion  —  John Amato has the video up of Brit Hume having a hyperventilating hissy fit this morning on Fox news at Bill Kristol's assertion that Feingold's motion is good for Democrats.  Wow.  —  Brit seemed unusually concerned that Mara Liasson, Bill Kristol and Juan Williams …

Task Forces 6-26, 121 and 20  —  Today's New York Times has a front page article about torture by a special forces unit called Task Force 6-26 at a secret prison near the Baghdad airport.  I strongly recommend reading the whole thing, but here are some notable excerpts: … And one final excerpt:

Rewriting The Science  —  (CBS) As a government scientist, James Hansen is taking a risk.  He says there are things the White House doesn't want you to hear but he's going to say them anyway.  —  Hansen is arguably the world's leading researcher on global warming.  He's the head of NASA's top institute studying the climate.

Scalia loosens up  —  IT WAS AT a black-tie dinner in Washington in 1985 that Washington Redskins running back John Riggins boozily gave one of his table-mates, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a memorable piece of advice: ''Come on, Sandy baby, loosen up.  You're too tight.

Women at war with the mullahs  —  What drives a woman to risk a fatwa by attacking Islam.  Christopher Goodwin reports  —  It would be hard to imagine a place more remote from the violence and turmoil of the Middle East than this quiet cul-de-sac in the southern suburbs of Los Angeles.

The Democrats' Disciplinarian  —  Emanuel's approach is giving Democrats the feeling they might not blow it this time.  That's what worries him now: overconfidence.  —  March 27, 2006 issue - Lyndon Johnson was famous for something called "the treatment," where he would loom over cowering colleagues …

Afghan Man Faces Death for Allegedly Converting to Christianity  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan man who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said Sunday.  —  The defendant, Abdul Rahman …