A Good Leak  —  President Bush declassified some of the intelligence he used to decide on war in Iraq.  Is that a scandal?  —  PRESIDENT BUSH was right to approve the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate about Iraq three years ago in order to make clear why he had believed …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

'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 …

DOES IRAN WANT WAR  —  April 9, 2006 — THE most dangerous error we could make in our sharpening confronta tion with Iran is to con vince ourselves that its leaders will act rationally.  Few wars are rooted in dispassionate analysis.  Self-delusion sparks most such catastrophes.

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.

Berlusconi in re-election battle  —  Italians are voting in general elections, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi facing a strong challenge from centre-left leader Romano Prodi.  —  The polls remain open all day on Sunday and close at 1500 (1300 GMT) on Monday.