Top Items:
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Young Officers Leaving Army at a High Rate — WASHINGTON, April 9 — Young Army officers, including growing numbers of captains who leave as soon as their initial commitment is fulfilled, are bailing out of active-duty service at rates that have alarmed senior officers.
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USA Today:
Army surpassing year's retention goal by 15% — WASHINGTON — Two of every three eligible soldiers continue to re-enlist, putting the Army, which has endured most of the fighting in Iraq, ahead of its annual goal. — The Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668 …
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi — Jordanian Painted As Foreign Threat To Iraq's Stability — The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program.
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Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out — WASHINGTON, April 9 — The three-star Marine Corps general who was the military's top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq expressed regret, in an essay published Sunday, that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war.
Lieut. General Greg Newbold / Time:
Why Iraq Was a Mistake — A military insider sounds off against the war and the "zealots" who pushed it — Two senior military officers are known to have challenged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the planning of the Iraq war. Army General Eric Shinseki publicly dissented and found himself marginalized.
BBC:
France to replace youth job law — French President Jacques Chirac has announced that the new youth employment law that sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests will be scrapped. — He said it would be replaced by other measures to tackle youth unemployment.
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New York Times:
Bush Ordered Declassification, Official Says — WASHINGTON, April 9 — A senior administration official confirmed for the first time on Sunday that President Bush had ordered the declassification of parts of a prewar intelligence report on Iraq in an effort to rebut critics who said the administration …
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MSNBC:
Polls: Berlusconi trailing challenger in Italy vote — Conservative premier is seeking third term; leftist Prodi is ex-ECU president — ROME - Center-left leader Romano Prodi looks set to beat Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election, winning a majority in both houses of parliament …
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Washington Post:
Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows — In an era when conservative Christians enjoy access and influence throughout the federal government, the organization that fueled their rise has fallen on hard times. — The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson …
USA Today:
CEO pay soars in 2005 as a select group break the $100 million mark — Even after a decade of sharply rising CEO pay, 2005 proved a watershed for a select group of executives. Their paydays — or potential paydays — broke $100 million. — Led by Capital One Financial's Richard Fairbank …
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Richard Morin / Washington Post:
Bush's Job Approval Rating Continues to Swoon — Forty-Seven Percent of Americans 'Strongly' Disapprove of Handling of the Presidency — Political reversals at home and continued bad news from Iraq have dragged President Bush's standing with the public to a new low and boosted Democratic chances …
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Neil Munro / nationaljournal.com:
Real Or Fake? … Thanks to digital technology, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the most photographed in history. Photographers with digital cameras have provided, almost instantaneously, an enormous flood of accurate, dramatic, and even shocking images to people around the world.
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
For McCain and the Press, the End of the Affair? — John McCain was expecting journalists to start slapping him around, and he hasn't been disappointed. — As he gears up for a likely presidential campaign, the Arizona senator knows that reporters and columnists — whom he jokingly described last year as …
Hassan M. Fattah / New York Times:
Democracy in the Arab World, a U.S. Goal, Falters — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 9 — Steps toward democracy in the Arab world, a crucial American goal that just months ago was cause for optimism — with elections held in Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian areas — are slowing …
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
Flirting With Disaster — Will 2006 be for Republicans what 1994 was for Democrats? — Democrats must be pinching themselves about their good fortune. Last week, the Republican Congress saw deals on budget reform, immigration reform and extending the Bush tax cuts all collapse within 24 hours.
Washington Post:
Organizers Expect Crush for Immigrant Rights Rally — Up to 180,000 Protesters May Converge on Mall — In churches, shops and sidewalks across the Washington region yesterday, thousands of people bustled in preparation for a rally that immigration advocates say could be a pivotal moment …