In 2003, U.S. Spurned Iran's Offer of Dialogue  —  Just after the lightning takeover of Baghdad by U.S. forces three years ago, an unusual two-page document spewed out of a fax machine at the Near East bureau of the State Department.  It was a proposal from Iran for a broad dialogue with the United States …

'Wash Post' Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Details Increasing Danger and Hardship  —  NEW YORK The Washington Post has obtained a cable, marked "sensitive," that it says show that just before President Bush left on a surprise trip last Monday to the Green Zone in Baghdad …

Pardon talk for Libby begins  —  WASHINGTON — Now that top White House aide Karl Rove is off the hook in the CIA leak probe, President George W. Bush must weigh whether to pardon former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the only one indicted in the three-year investigation.

Transcript for June 11  —  John Murtha, John Hofmeister, James Mulva, David O'Reilly.  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: The president digs in on Iraq.  —  (Videotape):  —  PRES.  GEORGE W. BUSH: And we will do what it takes to help them succeed.

Biden in N.H.: 'I'm running for president'  —  DOVER, N.H. — Calling the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks a greater shock to the American psyche than Pearl Harbor, Sen. Joe Biden said Saturday that Democrats must demonstrate they can provide for national security to win back the presidency.

FDL Book Salon — Lapdogs, Pt. I  —  The FDL Book Salon is so happy to welcome Peter Daou, who will be leading today's discussion on the first half of Eric Boehlert's book Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush .  — CHS  —  It is singular how soon we lose the impression of what ceases to be constantly before us - Lord Byron

SHILL TO HACK  —  CELEBRATED LIB STRATEGIST HAS SHADY MARKET PAST  —  June 18, 2006 — Jerome Armstrong, the political strategist who followed a famous Internet fundraising effort for Howard Dean in 2004 with a book on "people-powered politics," has a sordid past as a shill for a worthless dot-com stock.

Kicked out of Gitmo  —  A Times reporter's struggle to get the truth about America's island prison just got tougher.  —  IN THE BEST of times, covering Guantanamo means wrangling with a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, with logistics so nonsensical that they turn two hours of reporting into an 18-hour day …

Horror show reveals Iraq's descent  —  A morgue's grim scenes testify to a disintegrating nation, says Hala Jaber in Baghdad  —  THE morning rush had begun at the health ministry's morgue in Baghdad, and by 9.30am last Thursday 36 coffins already lined the street outside.

The Submerging Republican Majority  —  During the 2000 presidential campaign, Karl Rove, the political mastermind George W. Bush called Boy Genius, was wont to draw an analogy with the election of 1896, in which the Republican William McKinley drubbed William Jennings Bryan.

Time running out to curb effects of deep sea pollution, warns UN  —  Damage to the once pristine habitats of the deep oceans by pollution, litter and overfishing is running out of control, the United Nations warned yesterday.  In a report that indicates that time is running out to save them …

Baghdad blasts mock US claims of Iraqi progress  —  Following death of Zarqawi and visit by Bush, leaders fail to bring end to cycle of violence  —  A series of explosions ripped through Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 23 people and dealing a shattering blow to the new Iraqi government's attempts …

Bush's Gut Feeling On Maliki Is Positive  —  White House Puts Faith in an Iraqi Leader Whose Success May Define a U.S. Presidency  —  President Bush flew to Baghdad last week to size up Iraq's new leader.  "I have come not only to thank you," he told American troops gathered in the Green Zone on Tuesday …

German paper doubts Gaza beach reports  —  German newspaper casts doubt on Palestinian claims that IDF shell killed seven family members on Gaza beach.  How come Hadil Ghalia was seen wearing dry clothes after the Gaza beach attack when she was reported to have been swimming?  —  Ynet

Observations from Southeastern Afghanistan  —  Richard Fernandez of the Belmont Club and I discussed the recent Coalition offensives against the Taliban in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan's involvement with the Taliban.  The podcast is available at Pajamas Media.  —  Also, I'll be on the radio twice on Manday, June 19th: