Hezbollah backs decision to deploy Lebanese army in south  —  Lebanon will deploy its army in the south of the country after the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from the area, the Lebanese cabinet agreed Monday night, in a decision supported by all the ministers present …

Lieberman says Connecticut voters who oppose him have forgotten September 11 and are soft on national security  —  How dare he.  —  Now Joe Lieberman is the only Democrat who apparently cares about national security.  Just ask him. … Oh, so folks who are unhappy with Lieberman are soft …

A BRIDGE TOO WEIRD  —  The story of the day is Reuters photographer Adnan Hajj.  As I wrote earlier today, I think the most important issue here is not the faking of photographs, but the staging of photographs.  In that connection, reader Cathy Brooks has done a tremendous job of analyzing Hajj's photos.

Iraq Incident Was Fueled by Whiskey, G.I. Says  —  One of the soldiers accused in the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of the girl and her family said the incident took place after a morning of cards and whisky, when a member of his unit began pestering the group to kill some Iraqis …

Lieberman Campaign Website Hacked?  —  At www.joe2006.com, the following message appears:  —  "This Account Is Under Construction"  —  According to Lieberman's campaign communications director, Marion Steinfels, "Yep, we've been hacked."  —  "There's a coordinated effort to overloaded …

BUCK$ FOR BLOG: SOFTBANK PUTS $5M IN HUFF POST  —  A group led by venture capital firm Softbank is investing $5 million in the Huffington Post, an online news site and political blog owned by the pundit Arianna Huffington, The Post has learned.  —  The investment comes a little over a year …

Republicans' Best Hope?  Stop Imitating Democrats: Kevin Hassett  —  Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — The political mood in Washington changed dramatically last week.  —  Republicans moped around town like has-beens, mumbling that defeat in November is looking more and more likely.

Hatin' on Hillary: N.H. Dems lambaste Clinton  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. - Dick Bennett has been polling New Hampshire voters for 30 years.  And he's never seen anything like it.  —  "Lying b**** . . . shrew . . . Machiavellian . . . evil, power-mad witch . . . the ultimate self-serving politician."

Sexual lyrics prompt teens to have sex  —  CHICAGO - Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found.  —  Whether it's hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of popular music aimed at teens contains sexual overtones.

The believer  —  As the longtime head of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins is one of America's most visible scientists.  He holds impeccable scientific credentials — a medical degree as well as a Ph.D. in physics — and has established a distinguished track record as a gene hunter.

Shaking the Dead  —  Not a PhotoShop, but quite obviously staged for Reuters cameraman Ali Hashisho's benefit, adding drama to the already dramatic picture of a hand protruding from the rubble.  Pay special attention to the section of concrete-reinforcing iron rebar just over the victim's hand.

New Registration Rules Stir Voter Debate in Ohio  —  Brittnay Wanzo, left, signs her name for Tai Smith, a voter registration worker, in Cleveland on July 21.  Ms. Smith registered 15 voters that day.  —  CLEVELAND — For Tony Minor, the pastor of the Community of Faith Assembly in a run …

Hizbullah UAV shot down off Haifa coast  —  F-16 fighter jets shot down a Hizbullah Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Monday night 10 kilometers off the coast of Acre.  A high-ranking IAF officer said that it was possible that the UAV was loaded with explosives and was on its way to crash into a sensitive installation in northern Israel.

Iraq PM criticizes U.S. on Shiite militia attack  —  Violence kills at least 30 across the country; gunbattles erupt in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister sharply criticized a U.S.-Iraqi attack Monday on a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad, breaking with his American partners …

Bush Dismisses Generals' Concerns: 'I Hear People Say, Well, Civil War This, Civil War That'  —  Last week, Gen. John Abizaid, the Commander of the U.S. Central Command, raised the prospect that Iraq could be sliding toward civil war.  Abizaid said, "I believe that the sectarian violence …

Counterinsurgency, by the Book  —  AS we all know, war has changed.  In the 21st century it is dominated by irregular and unconventional ways of fighting.  Al Qaeda demonstrated this on 9/11, and the bloody wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are only further corroboration.