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.

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.

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.

Bush and Cheney Discussed Plame Prior to Leak  —  In early June 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney met with President Bush and told him that CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson was the wife of Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson and that she was responsible for sending him on a fact-finding mission …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

The Path Forward for Lieberman  —  Lieberman is considering running as an independent.  Because of CT election law, it will be very hard for Lieberman to compete in the primary and get on the ballot as an independent.  The likeliest path forward for him is to test his strength at the convention …

Goldilocks and Iran  —  I've been stewing over two articles this weekend that purport to be about U.S. government planning for a potential war with Iran, one a front page article in this newspaper yesterday and the other a long New Yorker piece by Seymour Hersh.

Political Crackups  —  What Happens When Governments Don't Work  —  In the fall of 1992, when a different Bush administration was unraveling, Shin Kanemaru ran into a little trouble.  Kanemaru was the Tom DeLay of politics in Japan; he was the gruff son of a rural sake maker who became …

Christians Sue for Right Not to Tolerate Policies  —  Many codes intended to protect gays from harassment are illegal, conservatives argue.  —  ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant.  —  Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality.

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 …

HERE WE GO AGAIN  —  ***scroll for updates***  —  They're baaack.  Illegal alien public relations experts are advising their followers to put aside the Mexican flags and tone down their radicalism, but many reconquistadors and their friends can't help themselves.  Hat tip to John A. for the protest photos today from Dallas: