Bush Defends Decisions on Iraq War  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday the decision about when to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq will fall to future presidents and Iraqi leaders, suggesting that U.S. involvement will continue at least through 2008.

The Stone Face of Zarqawi  —  Iraq is no "distraction" from al Qaeda.  —  In February 2004, our Kurdish comrades in northern Iraq intercepted a courier who was bearing a long message from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to his religious guru Osama bin Laden.  The letter contained a deranged analysis …

Pachyderms in the Mist: Red America and the MSM  —  This is a blog for the majority of Americans.  —  Since the election of 1992, the extreme political left has fought a losing battle.  Their views on the economy, marriage, abortion, guns, the death penalty, health care, welfare, taxes …

Freedom, Yes, Iraqis Say, But at Great, Grave Cost  —  Contrasts to Hussein Era Leave Some Hopeful, Others Bitter  —  BAGHDAD, March 20 — By almost any standard, Bashar Muhammed, the owner of a thriving Internet cafe, is a Baghdad success story.  Three years after the United States invaded Iraq …

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 …

How to spot a baby conservative  —  Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints?  Chances are he grew up to be a conservative.  —  At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids …

Cheney at Fund-Raiser, but Not With the Candidate  —  NEWARK, March 20 — In the biggest campaign fund-raiser yet on behalf of State Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to New Jersey on Monday and praised Mr. Kean as someone with "the experience …

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME  —  Andy proposed a way to balance the budget, sort of, and Kevin Drum puts some numbers on his inadequate spending cuts.  Kevin's spending numbers look right, but Sullivan's throwaway tax increases — getting rid of "all deductions" — could actually balance the budget, at least for the time being.

I'm boss, Hil tells Bill  —  Senator's word is now 'final,' says the ex-Prez  —  WASHINGTON - After being surprised by her husband's role in the Dubai ports deal, Sen. Hillary Clinton has insisted that Bill Clinton give her "final say" over what he says and does, well-placed sources said.

President Discusses War, Economy, Politics  —  SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES  —  BUSH: Yesterday, I delivered the second in a series of speeches on the situation in Iraq.  I spoke about the violence that the Iraqi people had faced since last month's bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

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 …

Poll: Burns struggling in race  —  HELENA - If U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns drops out of the race, either Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg or former Gov. Marc Racicot would instantly hold big leads over the top two Democrats against whom Burns is struggling, a poll released Monday shows.

Archbishop: stop teaching creationism  —  Williams backs science over Bible  —  The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has stepped into the controversy between religious fundamentalists and scientists by saying that he does not believe that creationism - the Bible-based account …

The battle to ban birth control  —  Ever since she was in her early teens, Mary Worthington has been vehemently opposed to contraception, which she regards as immoral and dangerous.  To spread her anti-birth-control gospel, this month she launched No Room for Contraception …

Pastors' Get-Out-the-Vote Training Could Test Tax Rules  —  WASHINGTON, March 20 — Weeks after the Internal Revenue Service announced a crackdown on political activities by churches and other tax-exempt organizations, a coalition of nonprofit conservative groups is holding training sessions …

WOMEN AND ISLAM  —  One of the things that probably get lost in all the demographic projections for Europe - which by the way are subject to some credible criticisms - is the fact that they most likely do not take account of native Europeans becoming Muslim.

THE UNITED NATIONS SMEARS LEGO  —  ***scroll for updates***  —  Today is The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.  The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is celebrating the day with this vile poster portraying Denmark's most famous company as racist:

TD Blog Interview with Dr. David Nicholl  —  On March 11, 2006, an explosive letter appeared in Britain's prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, decrying the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and in particular, the practice of force-feeding hunger-striking detainees.

Some U.S. Officials Fear Iran Is Helping Al Qaeda  —  They say intelligence suggests that the regime lets key figures plot.  But the picture is cloudy.  —  WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials, already focused on Iran's potential for building nuclear weapons, are struggling to solve …