Top Items:
Jeannine Aversa / Associated Press:
Bush Curses Hezbollah During G8 Luncheon — It wasn't meant to be overheard. Private luncheon conversations among world leaders, picked up by a microphone, provided a rare window into both banter and substance _ including President Bush cursing Hezbollah's attacks against Israel.
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Associated Press:
Israel sends ground forces into Lebanon — JERUSALEM - Israeli ground troops have entered southern Lebanon to attack Hezbollah bases on the border, a government spokesman said Monday. Israel's six-day-old offensive against Hezbollah following the capture of two Israeli soldiers earlier had been an aerial campaign.
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Microphone Captures Bush's Unscripted Comments at G-8 — ST. PETERSBURG, July 17 — President Bush should know that in Russia, someone is always listening. In this case, it was the rest of the world. — During a lunch with other leaders at the Group of Eight summit on Monday …
Haaretz:
EU's Solana pessimistic about chance for Lebanon cease-fire — BRUSSELS - A senior European Union official returned from the Middle East on Monday sounding pessimistic about the chance of a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, and the EU said it was considering the deployment of peacekeepers.
CNN.com International:
Israel launches new strikes — Western nations seek to evacuate their citizens — BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) — Another round of Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's international airport and other targets around Lebanon early Monday as Western countries made plans to evacuate their citizens from the war-torn country.
Hassan M. Fattah / New York Times:
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.
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Arabs Fear Iran More Than They Hate The Jews — The New York Times provides an interesting analysis regarding the surprising criticism coming from Arab capitals towards Hezbollah. Yesterday, its chief complained that the Arabs had not rallied around his organization while it fights the hated "Zionists".
Ze'ev Schiff / Haaretz:
ANALYSIS: Israel-Hezbollah fighting yet to reach its zenith
ANALYSIS: Israel-Hezbollah fighting yet to reach its zenith
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee
Terence Hunt / Associated Press:
U.S. Evacuation Teams Arrive in Lebanon
U.S. Evacuation Teams Arrive in Lebanon
Discussion:
In From the Cold, The Adventures of Chester, Mr. Smash goes to Washington and Blogs for Bush
John / OPFOR:
PREPPING THE BATTLESPACE
PREPPING THE BATTLESPACE
Discussion:
Ynetnews, Arutz Sheva, CNN, BBC, Reuters, QandO, Mudville Gazette, Murdoc Online, Dr. Sanity, Power Line, Israel Matzav, Blogs for Bush and Daily Pundit
New York Times:
In an About-Face, Sunnis Want U.S. to Remain in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 16 — As sectarian violence soars, many Sunni Arab political and religious leaders once staunchly opposed to the American presence here are now saying they need American troops to protect them from the rampages …
Discussion:
PoliBlog, Rantingprofs, The Politburo Diktat, Outside The Beltway, Needlenose, Martini Republic, Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos
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Robert H. Reid / Associated Press:
Gunmen kill 41 in raid on Iraq market — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Dozens of heavily armed attackers raided an open air market Monday in a tense town south of Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and wounding 42, police and hospital officials said. Most of the victims were believed to be Shiites.
Sebastian Mallaby / Washington Post:
The Fighters and the Freeloaders — Before things can turn a corner in the Middle East, we need the diplomatic equivalent of electric-shock therapy. We may need $100 oil to jolt the Europeans and the Chinese. We may need the Russians to be told that they can forget joining the World Trade Organization.
Discussion:
democracyarsenal.org, TAPPED, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Washington Monthly and The Agonist
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Dore Gold / Telegraph:
Iran plans to dominate the Middle East
Iran plans to dominate the Middle East
Discussion:
Times of London, Lebanese Political Journal, normblog, The Moderate Voice and On the Face
Mercury News:
HEARD THIS ONE? — Walking tall, and out — Dan Quayle took time out from participating in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in Stateline, Nev., on Friday to attend John Mellencamp's concert only to run into a political statement. — He then made a statement of his own …
Discussion:
The Left Coaster
Paul Bedard / US News:
Washington Whispers — Greta Van Susteren, the No. 1 woman on cable TV by a mile, thinks she's found the answer to what audiences want. Give it to them straight, and junk the 'tude. "I think the news has changed," says the host of Fox News Channel's top-rated On the Record.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Washington Post:
A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding — But Some in Party Bristle At Secrecy and Liberal Tilt — An alliance of nearly a hundred of the nation's wealthiest donors is roiling Democratic political circles, directing more than $50 million in the past nine months to liberal think tanks …