About That Graphic...  I sincerely apologize to anyone who was genuinely offended by the choice of images accompanying my blog post today on the Huffington Post.  It's also important to note that I do not, nor have I ever worked for Ned Lamont's campaign.  However, at their request, I removed the image earlier today.

Hezbollah claims of combat successes become less and less believable  —  If Hezbollah-run media are to be believed, then 35 Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed or wounded in Ayta a-Shab , militants downed an Israeli helicopter and destroyed a house in which IDF soldiers were hiding …

Iraq civil war warning for Blair  —  Civil war is a more likely outcome in Iraq than democracy, Britain's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad has warned Tony Blair in a confidential memo.  —  William Patey, who left the Iraqi capital last week, also predicted the break-up of Iraq along ethnic lines.

Haq charged: "Heinous"  —  The Seattle shooter who killed one woman and shot five other women in their stomachs after declaring he was a "Muslim-American" who was "angry at Israel" has been charged with nine felony counts including murder, hate crimes, and kidnapping.

WHY DEMOCRATS ARE SPLIT ON LIEBERMAN:  —  Matt Yglesias has some interesting thoughts about the reason Democrats of different vintages tend to part company on the Lieberman question.  Matt basically argues that if you started paying attention to politics after 1998 (and certainly after November …

ANOTHER "CIVILIAN" BITES THE DUST  —  Check out this video from Blog of the Week Vital Perspective.  A terrorist hauls rockets into a house, then fires them at Israel from the house.  At the end of the video an Israeli airplane takes out the rocket launcher.

Ground to a Halt  —  ISRAEL has finally conceded that air power alone will not defeat Hezbollah.  Over the coming weeks, it will learn that ground power won't work either.  The problem is not that the Israelis have insufficient military might, but that they misunderstand the nature of the enemy.

DCCC's $51.5M ad blitz  —  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has reserved $51.5 million of television advertising in 32 congressional districts.  —  The allocation reveals an aggressive posture toward the midterm elections, with 27 Republican-held districts targeted …

Blasts hit Baghdad football game  —  At least 12 people, many of them children, have been killed in bomb attacks while they were playing football in west Baghdad, police say.  —  Two blasts hit a makeshift pitch on waste ground in a mainly Shia district.  About a dozen other people were hurt.

Nearly Complete Haditha Probe Supports Accusations Against Marines  —  WASHINGTON — Evidence collected on the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot the civilians, including unarmed women and children, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

Rome: Jewish shops defaced with swastikas  —  About 20 shops owned by Jews vandalized in apparent neo-fascist attack linked to fighting in Middle East.  Flyers signed by group calling itself Armed Revolutionary Fascists left at the shops denouncing 'Zionist economy,' including pro-Hizbullah slogans

Lebanon: A Primer  —  To understand the current conflict, one must understand the way Lebanese think about this situation.  —  I'll note historical events alive in the minds of Lebanese, and note why Lebanese aren't "infantile" (the preferred Israeli term at the moment) for blaming Syria and Iran.

Evolution Fight Shifts Direction in Kansas Vote  —  Less than a year after the Kansas Board of Education adopted science standards that were the most wide-reaching in the nation in challenging Darwin's theory of evolution, voters on Tuesday ousted the conservative majority on the board that favored those guidelines.

Rumsfeld Decides to Testify on Iraq War  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld late Wednesday reversed a decision to skip a public hearing on Capitol Hill and said he will testify at a session on the Iraq war.  —  The move came after hours of criticism and pressure …