Bush Was Set on Path to War, Memo by British Adviser Says  —  LONDON — In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush's public ultimatum to Saddam Hussein was blunt: Disarm or face war.

Groundswell of Protests Back Illegal Immigrants  —  When members of the Senate Judiciary Committee meet today to wrestle with the fate of more than 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, they can expect to do so against a backdrop of thousands of demonstrators …

Shiite Officials Express Anger Over U.S. Clash With Militia  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 27 — Shiite officials reacted angrily today to a clash that pitted American and Iraqi government forces against Shiite militiamen in Baghdad on Sunday night.  —  Iraqi security officials Sunday night …

Retraining Laid-Off Workers, but for What?  —  Layoffs have disrupted the lives of millions of Americans over the last 25 years.  The cure that these displaced workers are offered — retraining and more education — is heralded as a sure path to new and better-paying careers.

Mr. Levin, Meet Ms. Rohbar  —  If Yale's president wants to educate a deserving Afghan, I've got just the woman for him.  —  NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The BBC calls Malalai Joya the most famous woman in Afghanistan.  On Thursday the 27-year-old women's rights activist, a member of the Afghan Parliament …

In Iran, Even Some On Right Warning Against Extremes  —  TEHRAN — Nine months after the election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, Iranian politics has shifted so sharply to the right that some traditional conservatives are warning of the dangers of radicalism.

Iraq Reporters Hit Back at Claims They Are Biased on War  —  NEW YORK After the latest round of blaming the media for distorted coverage in Iraq, which emerged this week from top Bush administraton officials, war reporters and editors strongly defended their coverage this weekend in a variety of venues …

Analysis: Hamdan and the prospects of tie votes  —  On Tuesday morning, at 11 o'clock or a few minutes after, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., is expected to rise from the bench, and depart from the courtroom.  He has taken himself out of every preliminary action on the war-on-terrorism case …

Anatomy of a Slush Fund  —  For those of you who didn't get a chance to read through yesterday's Post story on the U.S. Family Network, the Post had a handy graphic that broke down the money going in and out of the fund.  It is, simply put, the finest example of a GOP slush fund that you'll ever hope to see.

Republicans On The Run  —  As midterm campaigns gear up, Bush's party fears a backlash that could end its 12-year hold on the House  —  [This article consists of a complex diagram.  Please see hardcopy of magazine.]  Considering that Vice President Dick Cheney had come a long …

Let me be buried on this spot!  —  Guillermo Fariñas Hernandez doesnt have any RBI's.  He's hit no fastballs out of the park and he doesnt play shortstop, second base, center field or otherwise.  He's never been on the pitching mound and has never struck out a soul.

Vague Law and Hard Lobbying Add Up to Billions for Big Oil  —  WASHINGTON, March 26 — It was after midnight and every lawmaker in the committee room wanted to go home, but there was still time to sweeten a deal encouraging oil and gas companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today Tehran, Tomorrow the World  —  What's at stake in the dispute over Iranian nukes?  Ultimately, human survival  —  Like many physicists who worked on the Manhattan Project, Richard Feynman could not get the Bomb out of his mind after the war.  "I would see people building a bridge," he wrote.

Evangelical teens rally in S.F.  —  More than 25,000 evangelical Christian youth landed Friday in San Francisco for a two-day rally at AT&T Park against "the virtue terrorism" of popular culture, and they were greeted by an official city condemnation and a clutch of protesters who said their event amounted to a "fascist mega-pep rally."

Proposals Call For Disclosure of Ties to Lobbyists  —  Lawmakers May Be Forced to Detail Contacts, Cash Received  —  In October 2001, executives from a small start-up with a promising technology approached their congressman, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), for help getting Pentagon notice.

Judicial intemperance - Scalia flips message to doubting Thomases  —  Minutes after receiving the Eucharist at a special Mass for lawyers and politicians at Cathedral of the Holy Cross, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had a special blessing of his own for those who question …