THE IRAN PLANS  —  Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?  —  The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack.

A Leak by any Other Name...  Political dialog is so frequently an exercise is opponents talking past one another with the aim of political gain as to be a combination of amusing and depressing.  The latest example of this is the swirl around the testimony of Scooter Libby that he was authorized …

Kerry Sharply Criticizes Bush on Several Fronts  —  Senator John Kerry made a slashing attack on the Bush administration yesterday, comparing it to the faltering government in Iraq and equating its war strategy with its planning for Hurricane Katrina, while also invoking Jesus as he criticized federal Medicaid policy.

President's Radio Address  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  This week, Members of the United States Senate reached a promising bipartisan compromise on comprehensive immigration reform.  Unfortunately, this compromise is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leader who has refused …

Threat of Shiite Militias Now Seen As Iraq's Most Critical Challenge  —  BAGHDAD, April 7 — Shiite Muslim militias pose the greatest threat to security in many parts of Iraq, having killed more people in recent months than the Sunni Arab-led insurgency, and will likely present the most daunting …

U.S. Study Paints Somber Portrait of Iraqi Discord  —  WASHINGTON, April 8 — An internal staff report by the United States Embassy and the military command in Baghdad provides a sobering province-by-province snapshot of Iraq's political, economic and security situation …

Demo candidate accused of showing Bush-bashing video to his students  —  Parent says West science teacher showed eighth graders video with obscenities  —  Christy Jackson does not want a teacher showing her 13-year-old son a video calling the president of the United States an a—hole during class.

Lobbying Cases Shine Spotlight on Family Ties  —  WASHINGTON, April 8 — On Dec. 3, 2003, Aeneas Enterprises opened for business in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, and judging by its bank records, the small consulting company with no listed telephone number was an instant success.

More Damning Documents On Saddam  —  Origins Of War: The latest in a stream of eye-opening Iraqi documents shows Saddam Hussein's regime was planning suicide attacks on U.S. interests six months before 9-11.  Why won't Washington get the word out?  —  Last month the Pentagon began releasing …

Snow's Job  —  Why no Wall Street CEO wants to be the new Treasury secretary.  —  Several Democrats yesterday unveiled the Hamilton Project, an effort to create a new vision for economic policy.  Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to engineer their own Hamilton project …

washingtonpost.com > Live Discussions  —  Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and Washington Post columnist David S. Broder will be online Friday, April 7, at 1:30 p.m. ET to answer your questions about the world of politics, from the latest maneuverings on Capitol Hill to developments in the White House.

Anyone for tennis, at the age of 150?  —  Scientific progress promises us far longer, happier lives.  Yet the 'bioconservatives' want to stop it  —  BY THE END of this century, the typical European may attend a family reunion in which five generations are playing together.

Whistle-Blower Outs NSA Spy Room  —  AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center …