U.S., France OK U.N. Mideast truce pact  —  UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France agreed Saturday on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah but would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked, officials said.

Lieberman Reduces Effort to Get Out Vote  —  With only three days left to reverse the course of the Democratic primary race, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman is scaling back on the ambitious ground operation that his supporters had hoped would pull him past his challenger, Ned Lamont …

Baghdad's Chaos Raises Questions on U.S. Plan  —  Over the past year, as American commanders pushed Iraqi forces to take over responsibility for this violent capital, Baghdad became a markedly more dangerous place.  —  Now the Americans are being forced to call in more of their own troops to bring the city under control.

The Last Honest Man  —  Twenty-nine Democratic senators voted in the fall of 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq.  There isn't enough room on this page to list the Democratic foreign policy experts and former officials, including those from the top ranks of the Clinton administration …

Mexico full poll recount rejected  —  Mexico's electoral body has rejected a request by left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for a full recount of votes from July's disputed election.  —  Instead, the electoral tribunal's seven judges ordered a partial recount.

Washington Deal Maker Details Palm Greasing  —  WASHINGTON — In 1992, Brent R. Wilkes rented a suite at the Hyatt Hotel a few blocks from the Capitol.  In his briefcase was a stack of envelopes for a half-dozen congressmen, each packet containing up to $10,000 in checks.

The Brink of Madness  —  A familiar place.  —  National Review Online  —  When I used to read about the 1930s — the Italian invasion of Abyssinia, the rise of fascism in Italy, Spain, and Germany, the appeasement in France and Britain, the murderous duplicity of the Soviet Union …

Anti-war, Anti-Israel, Anti-Joe  —  You fight the global war against jihadist Islam with the political parties you have.  —  We have two.  One is the Republican party, led by George W. Bush.  Its heart and mind are mostly in the right place.  Its performance as a governing party in time of war is, admittedly, another matter.

Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut?  —  OK, now things are getting weird.  —  This Reuters photograph shows blatant evidence of manipulation.  Notice the repeating patterns in the smoke; this is almost certainly caused by using the Photoshop "clone" tool to add more smoke to the image.