A 'Concerted Effort' to Discredit Bush Critic  —  Prosecutor Describes Cheney, Libby as Key Voices Pitching Iraq-Niger Story  —  As he drew back the curtain this week on the evidence against Vice President Cheney's former top aide, Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald for the first time described a …

U.S. Is Studying Military Strike Options on Iran  —  Any Mix of Tact, Threats Alarms Critics  —  The Bush administration is studying options for military strikes against Iran as part of a broader strategy of coercive diplomacy to pressure Tehran to abandon its alleged nuclear development program …

The rise of the Islamist axis  —  On Monday, Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported that part of Ukraine's Soviet-era nuclear arsenal may well have found its way to Iran.  With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainians agreed to transfer the Soviet nuclear arsenal that remained in Ukraine after its independence to Russia.

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 …

Pro-Life Nation  —  It was a sunny midafternoon in a shiny new global-economy mall in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, and a young woman I was hoping to meet appeared to be getting cold feet.  She had agreed to rendezvous with a go-between not far from the Payless shoe store and then come to a nearby hotel to talk to me.

'Forgers' of key Iraq war contract named  —  TWO employees of the Niger embassy in Rome were responsible for the forgery of a notorious set of documents used to help justify the Iraq war, an official investigation has allegedly found.  —  According to Nato sources, the investigation …

Slacker Friday  —  I've got a new Think Again column here.  It's called: "Deconstructing the Attack on Jill Carroll."  —  From the Benton Foundation: … Christianity Today publishes a long, scholarly article on the "incoherence" of Hannah Arendt?  I dunno.  Someone read this and tell us if we need to pay attention.

Condoleezza Rice on Piano  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, center, with her chamber group; from left, Soye Kim, Joshua Klein, Robert Battey and Lawrence Wallace.  The group plays as often as every other week.  —  WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago on Sunday, Condoleezza Rice got up at 4 …

Bigs bunny: monster rabbit devours English veggie plots  —  LONDON (AFP) - In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit.

Hammered  —  What I Saw at the Republican Revolution  —  It was my first week as Tom DeLay's communications director in late 1995.  And we were already in crisis.  —  On the House floor, DeLay had gotten into a shoving match with a Wisconsin Democrat named Dave Obey.  I had no idea what had happened.

Diaspora Voice: Those undesirable immigrants  —  She never wanted to come to America.  She only did it to make money, enough money to bring over her five brothers and sisters.  She waited 16 years before bothering to become a citizen, and took the step mostly to avoid being deported.

Making It Ashore, but Still Chasing U.S. Dream  —  They all journeyed to America on the Golden Venture, a rusty freighter crammed with 286 Chinese immigrants when it ran aground off Queens on the night of June 6, 1993.  —  But a father of three who was seeking asylum from China's one-child policy …

The Same Subject Continued  —  Here's some more via the NYT: For President, First a Leak; Now, a Jam … Well, sure, there is a rather radical difference between "authorized" and "unauthorized."  However, that isn't really the issue.  —  If I understand the timeline correctly …