Pentagon Memo Aims to Counter Rumsfeld Critics  —  WASHINGTON, April 15 — The Defense Department has issued a memorandum to a group of former military commanders and civilian analysts that offers a direct challenge to the criticisms made by retired generals about Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Policy on Iran nukes seems to be off-target  —  Happy Easter.  Happy Passover.  But, if you're like the president of Iran and believe in the coming of the "Twelfth Imam," your happy holiday may be just around the corner, too.  President Ahmadinejad, who is said to consider himself …

'Speak softly, don't argue and slow down'  —  Loud and brash, in gawdy garb and baseball caps, more than three million of them flock to our shores every year.  Shuffling between tourist sites or preparing to negotiate a business deal, they bemoan the failings of the world outside the United States.

Hiltzik of the LA Times - Unethical Or Just Ignorant?  —  I've had fun reading Michael Hiltzik in the past, mostly because he's an interesting case of a major newspaper trying on the blog form.  He manages, I think to combine the worst of both - the overweening arrogance of the MSM and the casual …

Are We There Yet?  —  Following up on my post from Friday highlighting Colonel Sam Gardiner's statement on CNN that the US already has troops in iran, I see (via robelicit at kos) that Dennis Kucinich has sent a letter to the president asking if such reports are true.  He says:

Below the fold  —  Three very interesting reports from the Middle East.  The first, from the Jerusalem Post describes an Israeli proposal to swap Jonathan Pollard for .... Marwan Barghouti. … The second report is even more interesting, and also from the Jersualem Post.

Joe Klein: Nukes should be on the table  —  Joe Klein: "Nukes should be on the table"  —  Joe Klein started off today on "THIS WEEK," sounding fairly reasonable in the discussion about Iran and then veered off into neocon, kool-aid drinking lunacy.  George Stephanopoulos was even caught off guard by Klein's statements.

FEMA deemed these homes habitable  —  Labeling Katrina homes as livable makes owners ineligible for more aid, but officials here call structures unfit  —  A New Orleans house flattened but for a concrete staircase on a crumbling facade was among many storm-ravaged structures …

How to Lose Your Job at a Saudi Newspaper  —  I was unceremoniously fired this month by my Saudi newspaper, a leading English-language daily called Arab News.  —  It didn't matter that I had been the senior columnist on the op-ed page for nine years or that my work was quoted widely …

Redefining Property Values  —  By Design, Status Seekers and Tree-Huggers Don't Have to Commune  —  The survey went to thousands of people who'd called a number on highway billboards announcing that Ladera Ranch, a new planned community in Orange County, Calif., was coming soon.

The Battle for Baghdad II, The Three Block War & Iraq Ops  —  The London Times reports plans are in the works for "the second liberation of Baghdad" after the new government forms; operational developments in Iraq  —  The political process remains a major front in the war in Iraq …

The GOP's Betrayal On Speech  —  If in November Republicans lose control of the House of Representatives, April 5 should be remembered as the day they demonstrated that they earned defeat.  Traducing the Constitution and disgracing conservatism, they used their power for their only remaining purpose — to cling to power.

Keeping Al-Qaeda in His Grip  —  Al-Zawahiri Presses Ideology, Deepens Rifts Among Islamic Radicals  —  CAIRO — In January 2003, one of the two most wanted men in the world couldn't contain his frustration.  From a hiding place probably somewhere in South Asia, he tapped out two lengthy e-mails …