Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program  —  WASHINGTON, March 28 — Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court, including one who resigned in apparent protest over President Bush's domestic eavesdropping, urged Congress on Tuesday to give the court a formal role in overseeing the surveillance program.

Democrats Pledge to 'Eliminate' Osama  —  WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats promise to "eliminate" Osama bin Laden and ensure a "responsible redeployment of U.S. forces" from Iraq in 2006 in an election-year national security policy statement.  —  In the position paper to be announced Wednesday …

Crunch time again  —  Here are a couple of disturbing reports from Baghdad.  Alaa the Mesopotamian says that its unclear which security forces are to be trusted. … Baghdad Burning reports a somewhat similar picture.  She was watching television when a strange message was broadcast.

Card's Departure Seen as a Sign President Hears Words of Critics  —  A few weeks ago, President Bush's spokesman dismissed talk of an impending staff change as "inside Washington babble."  —  White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.'s resignation yesterday suggests that Bush was listening.

Voters in Israel Support Parties Vowing Pullout  —  JERUSALEM, Wednesday, March 29 — Israelis voted Tuesday to bring to power a new centrist party, Kadima, which is committed to a further pullout from the occupied West Bank.  —  Kadima's leader, Ehud Olmert, will become prime minister …

THE AMERICAN FLAG COMES SECOND  —  ***scroll for updates***  —  You will not see this heart-stopping photo on the front page of the NY Times or on the lead story of the major news networks.  You should (hat tip: Mika and F/R): … More:  —  Meanwhile: Mexico Cheers Passage of Immigration Bill

Afghan convert given Italy asylum  —  The Italian cabinet has approved a request for asylum from an Afghan who escaped a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity.  —  Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said the case of Abdul Rahman, 41, was now in the hands of the interior ministry.

'The Last Helicopter'  —  Mideast dictators try to "wait Bush out."  They may be miscalculating.  —  Hassan Abbasi has a dream—a helicopter doing an arabesque in cloudy skies to avoid being shot at from the ground.  On board are the last of the "fleeing Americans," forced out of the Dar al-Islam …

'War' on Christians Is Alleged  —  Conference Depicts a Culture Hostile to Evangelical Beliefs  —  The "War on Christmas" has morphed into a "War on Christians."  —  Last December, some evangelical Christian groups declared that the religious celebration of Christmas — and even the phrase …

RNC Memo Warns GOPers Not To Distance Themselves From Bush  —  Republican pollster Jan van Lohuizen, in a memo written for RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, warns that if members of Congress try to drive a wedge between themselves and Pres.  Bush, it'd be akin to adding weight to an anchor.

The Secret of George Mason  —  What its Final Four basketball team and its unusual economics department have in common.  —  Unlike his neighbors, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, founding father George Mason has rarely gotten his props from historians and the public.

Can you spot the mistakes in this photo?  —  This is a picture that Howard Kaloogian, a conservative Republican candidate in San Diego's upcoming congressional special election to replace disgraced GOPer Duke Cunningham, has placed on his Web site.  It is billed as a photo that Kaloogian and his party took on a recent trip to Iraq.

Redemption Among the Faithful  —  There are those who would say Tom DeLay lost his job as House majority leader because he was indicted by a Texas grand jury on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, or because of his extensive ties to lawbreaking lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  But they would be wrong.

Saudis, with Pakistani help, working on nuclear programme  —  BERLIN (AFP) - Saudi Arabia is working secretly on a nuclear programme, with help from Pakistani experts, a German magazine reports in its latest edition, citing Western security sources.  —  The German magazine Cicero says that during …

Senate Votes Down Outside Ethics Office  —  The Senate rejected a proposal to establish an independent office to investigate ethics complaints against its members, and then cleared the way to pass a broad-based ethics and lobbying bill this week.  —  On a 67 to 30 vote …

Six theses on immigration policy  —  Some random thoughts as the nativist campaign builds up a head of steam:  —  1. For any given amount of total immigration, it's obviously better to have a larger fraction of that total be legal.  That's especially true if we're worried about terrorism.

Senate to Weigh Guest-Worker Proposal  —  With the Republican Party deeply divided, the Senate will take up a broad revision of the nation's immigration laws today amid signs that conservatives are ready to compromise on efforts to offer illegal immigrants new avenues to lawful employment.