Children die in convoy attack as Israel widens Lebanon assault  —  Inigo Gilmore in Nahariyah, Patrick Wintour in St Petersburg and Tracy McVeigh  —  Israel steeply escalated its military campaign against Hizbollah in Lebanon yesterday with a series of air strikes that left more than 35 civilians dead …

VIDEO: Rice Calls Idea That Iraq War Contributed To Regional Instability 'Grotesque'  —  Today on ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos pointed out that the Bush administration repeatedly promised that war in Iraq would bring peace and stability to the Middle East.

Dean raps Bush on defense  —  Democratic chairman speaks at conference  —  Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean accused President Bush last night of being weak on national defense and absent in the escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

PREPPING THE BATTLESPACE  —  One of the lessons America, and the world, drew from the lightning campaigns of Gulf Wars I & II was the importance of battlesplace preparation.  That is, the conditioning of the battlefield's environment prior to initiating full scale military operations.

Iran calls Western incentives acceptable  —  TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday that Western incentives to halt its nuclear program were an "acceptable basis" for talks, and it is ready for detailed negotiations.  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responded that Iran should talk directly …

Blame by Some Arab Leaders for Fighters  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 16 — With the battle between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah raging, key Arab governments have taken the rare step of blaming Hezbollah, underscoring in part their growing fear of influence by the group's main sponsor, Iran.

The problem with presidential signing statements  —  a law professor at the University of Chicago  —  Recently, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, held a hearing about "presidential signing statements."  Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court issued …

ANALYSIS: Israel-Hezbollah fighting yet to reach its zenith  —  The fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, has still not reached its zenith.  The Israel Defense Forces' operational plans against the Shi'ite organizations have not yet been carried out.

'Great Men' have grating effect on Mideast  —  I was on the road the other night and so found myself watching CNN's coverage of Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, etc.  It was "Larry King Live," and it was one of those shows where Larry interviews great men about what needs to be done and the great men …

Mortars let fly as Iraq draws first front line of civil war  —  The battle lines of a full-scale civil war in Iraq have been drawn in Baghdad.  —  Highway 60 has become one of the bloodiest fronts in the war between Sunni and Shia.  Known to its frightened inhabitants as the "street of death" …

Disproportionate Response  —  The criticism that Israel is using a "disproportionate response" to the kidnappings of its soldiers is an attempt to morally disarm Israel and make Israel out to be a bully.  This notion is ludicrous when considered in the full context: Hezbollah and Hamas initiated …