Top Items:
Guardian:
Annan: Israel bombed UN base for hours — Staff and agencies — The UN general secretary, Kofi Annan, today accused the Israeli military of carrying out a sustained bombing of the UN base on the Lebanon-Israel border that culminated in the killing of four unarmed monitors.
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, The American Thinker, Bring it On!, LENIN'S TOMB, Outside The Beltway, Right Wing News and CNN
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Wretchard / The Belmont Club:
A Knife-Thrower at the Carnival — Kofi Annan has accused Israel of deliberately targeting UN position in southern Lebanon. According to the Independent: … In order to have some sense of how plausible this accusation is, it would be useful to examine the statements of the UNIFIL itself prior to this incident.
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
A Way Forward — To stop the war in Lebanon, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will need to start with some basics: The best strategy for containing a militia such as Hezbollah is to build a strong Lebanese state; any lasting solution for this conflict will be political, not just military …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard, TPMCafe blogs, Power Line, The Real Ugly American.com and New York Times
BBC:
Israel troops 'ignored' UN plea — UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon contacted Israeli troops 10 times before an Israeli bomb killed four of them, an initial UN report says. — The post was hit by a precision-guided missile after six hours of shelling, diplomats familiar with the probe say.
Vicki Allen / Reuters:
Some Democrats say will shun Maliki speech — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional Democrats voiced alarm on Tuesday over Iraq's denunciation of Israel in the Middle East conflict, and some said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's upcoming address to Congress should be canceled unless he apologizes.
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Fox News:
Hastert Rejects Calls to Disinvite al-Maliki to Speak to Congress — WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert has rejected calls Tuesday by congressional Democrats to cancel an address Wednesday by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to a joint session of Congress.
Discussion:
Unqualified Offerings, Bull Moose, The Corner, Right Wing News, Booman Tribune, Say Anything, The Agonist and Brad DeLong's Semi …
Washington Post:
Bush to Add Troops in Baghdad, Citing 'Terrible' Sectarian Strife — President Bush said yesterday that he will send more U.S. forces and equipment to Baghdad as part of a fresh strategy to put down rising sectarian violence, abandoning a six-week-old operation that failed to pacify …
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Senate Removes Abortion Option for Young Girls — WASHINGTON, July 25 — The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would make it a federal crime to help an under-age girl escape parental notification laws by crossing state lines to obtain an abortion. — The bill was approved on a 65-to-34 vote …
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Nell Henderson / Washington Post:
Tax Cuts May Come At a Price, Study Says — The federal government will need to either cut spending or raise taxes down the road to pay for extending President Bush's recent tax cuts, the Treasury Department said in a report released yesterday, dismissing the idea popular with many Republicans that such sacrifices can be avoided.
Mohammed Khaku / aljazeerah.info:
Senator Santorum Repugnant Remarks on Islam, Iran, and Syria — Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.) remarks at the National Press Club on Wednesday July 19th 2006 calling for regime change in Iran and described "Islamic fascism" as the "great test" of this generation, as threatening to the United States …
Insight:
Dump Condi: Foreign policy conservatives charge State Dept. has hijacked Bush agenda — Conservative national security allies of President Bush are in revolt against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying that she is incompetent and has reversed the administration's national security and foreign policy agenda.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, DownWithTyranny!, The Next Hurrah, Outside The Beltway, The Carpetbagger Report and Rising Hegemon
SEIXON:
Browner Still — At approximately 7:00 AM Central European Time I received a phone call from a blocked number. The person on the phone told me I had written naughty things on my blog, and then laughed when I asked them who they were. — "You're a dead man."
Jennifer Harper / Washington Times:
50 percent of U.S. says Iraq had WMDs — Half of Americans now say Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States invaded the country in 2003 — up from 36 percent last year, a Harris poll finds. Pollsters deemed the increase both "substantial" and "surprising" …
Discussion:
The Next Hurrah, Secular Blasphemy, Bring it On!, JABBS, The Carpetbagger Report, Power Line, Unfogged and The Huffington Post
Radioblogger.com:
Chris Matthews comes unglued on the Imus In The Morning program. — If you're a rancher, according to Matthews, you can't be president. — Here is an excerpt of audio from Chris Matthews from earlier today on the Imus In The Morning program. Listening is fine, but you need to really read what he had to say.
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Battle for Baghdad Boils Down to Grabbing a Slice at a Time — BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 25 — The Bush administration's announcement on Tuesday that it will shift more forces to Baghdad is much more than a numbers game. It reflects a new strategy to reclaim control of the Iraqi capital and a new approach for deploying the troops.
Discussion:
DefenseLINK, rubber hose, The Belgravia Dispatch, Needlenose, The Real Ugly American.com and Political Animal
Associated Press:
ConocoPhillips profit leaps 65 pct. in 2Q — HOUSTON - Lofty oil prices fueled a 65 percent surge in ConocoPhillips' second-quarter net income, the company announced Wednesday. Its shares rose 2 percent in morning trading. — The nation's third-largest oil company earned $5.18 billion …