Top Items:
John Kifner / New York Times:
Hezbollah Leads Work to Rebuild, Gaining Stature — As stunned Lebanese returned Tuesday over broken roads to shattered apartments in the south, it increasingly seemed that the beneficiary of the destruction was most likely to be Hezbollah. — A major reason — in addition to its hard-won reputation …
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Condoleezza Rice / Washington Post:
A Path To Lasting Peace — For the past month the United States has worked urgently to end the violence that Hezbollah and its sponsors have imposed on the people of Lebanon and Israel. At the same time, we have insisted that a truly effective cease-fire requires a decisive change from the status quo that produced this war.
Gil Hoffman / Jerusalem Post:
Israel threatens to resume war if Hizbullah refuses to disarm — The IDF will have to resume operations in Lebanon if the expanded United Nations force being assembled does not fulfill its obligation to dismantle Hizbullah, an official in the Prime Minister's Office warned on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Moderate Voice, Flopping Aces, All Things Beautiful, Riehl World View, Liberty and Justice, Security Watchtower, The Strata-Sphere, AMERICAN FUTURE, California Conservative, Jihad Watch, Israel Matzav, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang, Decision '08, Mere Rhetoric and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
USA Today:
Rice: Not U.N.'s job to disarm Hezbollah — WASHINGTON — The 15,000-member U.N. force being created for southern Lebanon will keep the peace and enforce an international arms embargo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday, but it won't be charged with disarming Hezbollah guerrillas.
Washington Post:
Hezbollah Balks At Withdrawal From the South — Hezbollah refused to disarm and withdraw its fighters from the battle-scarred hills along the border with Israel on Tuesday, threatening to delay deployment of the Lebanese army and endangering a fragile cease-fire.
Discussion:
Haaretz, Financial Times, DEBKAfile, Ynetnews, INDCJournal, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Strata-Sphere and Israel Matzav
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Dem angst escalates — A group of Senate Democrats is growing increasingly angry about Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-Conn.) campaign tactics since he lost the Democratic primary last week. — If he continues to alienate his colleagues, Lieberman could be stripped of his seniority within …
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StrategyPage:
The Real Winner in Lebanon — The success of the ceasefire in Lebanon hinges on a condition that Lebanon and Hizbollah both insist will not happen. Hizbollah is supposed to disarm, but says bluntly that it will not do so. The Lebanese government says it will not force Hizbollah to disarm.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Alleged UK Terror Plot — So far, no one has been charged in the alleged terror plot to blow up several airplanes across the Atlantic. No evidence has been produced supporting the contention that such a plot was indeed imminent. Forgive me if my skepticism just ratcheted up a little notch.
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Matt Moore / Associated Press:
British Seek to Keep Suspects in Custody — British investigators headed to a closed-door hearing Wednesday to argue that suspects arrested in an alleged plot to blow up as many as 10 trans-Atlantic jetliners should be kept in custody without charge. Meanwhile, Home Secretary John Reid …
New York Times:
Bush Said to Be Frustrated by Level of Public Support in Iraq — President Bush made clear in a private meeting this week that he was concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq and frustrated that the new Iraqi government — and the Iraqi people — had not shown greater public support …
Rob Stein / Washington Post:
Pluto's New Place in Space Could Be as a 'Pluton' — Hoping to end the agonizing over whether Pluto is really a planet, an international committee of astronomers has come up with a new definition that would save the tiny body's place in the sun's family. — Under the long-awaited proposal …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Breaking: London-to-DC flight diverted due to "dangerous situation" on board (Update: Note referencing Al Qaeda?) — The plane's on the runway in Boston now; passengers are being offloaded. Details are sketchy, but Fox said there were three "suspicious" people onboard who confronted the crew …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
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Washington Post:
Allen on Damage Control After Remarks to Webb Aide — Sen. George Allen on Tuesday sought to contain the political damage from remarks he made to a Fairfax County man that dredged up charges of racial insensitivity — allegations that have dogged him for years as governor, senator and now presidential hopeful.
Art Levine / Salon:
Salon's shameful six — There was Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. Here are the six states where vote suppression could cost voters their voice — and Democrats the election — in 2006. — Eva Steele has a son in the military who is supposed to be fighting for freedom in Iraq …
Ned Lamont / Opinion Journal:
The Democrats Mean Business — Washington needs an entrepreneurial approach. — In the past week, my victory in the Connecticut Senate primary has been labeled everything from the death knell of the Democratic Party to the signal of our party's rebirth. Beneath all of this punditry …
Discussion:
Chronicle of the Conspiracy
Gina Keating / Reuters:
Plame lawyer plans to force Cheney, Rove testimony — Source: Reuters — A lawyer plans to use a legal precedent that allowed President Bill Clinton to be sued while in office to force Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove to testify in a lawsuit brought by former CIA operative Valerie Plame and her husband.
Lance Mannion:
The king is a fink! — Ann Coulter is not the Lone Haranguer riding bravely through the night to yell up at the castle, "The king is a fink!" — She works for the fink. — Coulter is a wholly-owned subsidy of the Republican Right, stamped with the Karl Rove seal of approval.
Edmund Blair / Reuters:
Iran says won't back down over atomic rights — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran would not yield to Western pressure to give up its home-grown nuclear technology. — His comments came days before an August 22 deadline Iran set itself to respond …
Discussion:
Liberty and Justice
Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
Scarborough: "Is Bush An 'Idiot'?" — Joe Scarborough started his program tonight asking the question "is Bush an idiot?" (Is that really debatable?). Not only did he do a great run down of clips involving some of the most famous "Bushisms", but he did have an interesting conversation …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Brilliant at Breakfast, Firedoglake, Democrats.com, slacktivist and State of the Day