Gunmen try to take U.S. Embassy in Syria  —  DAMASCUS, Syria - Islamic militants attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Tuesday using automatic rifles, hand grenades and at least one van rigged with explosives, the government said.  Four people were killed in the brazen attack, including three of the assailants.

Reinforce Baghdad  —  We are at a crucial moment in Iraq.  Supporters of the war, like us, have in the past differed over tactics.  But at this urgent pass, there can be no doubt that we need to stop the downward slide in Iraq by securing Baghdad.  —  There is no mystery …

Bush: Saddam was not responsible for 9/11  —  George Bush last night admitted that Saddam Hussein had no hand in the 9/11 terror attacks, but he asked Americans to support a war in Iraq that he said was the defining struggle of our age.  —  On a day of sorrow and remembrance …

President Bush's Reality  —  Last night, President Bush once again urged Americans to take terrorism seriously — a warning that hardly seems necessary.  One aspect of that terrible day five years ago that seems immune to politicization or trivialization is the dread of another attack.

Arkansas Governor: Beebe by 11  —  Beebe (D) 49% Hutchinson (R) 38%  —  For the first time since May, State Attorney General Mike Beebe's lead in the race for Arkansas governor is back to double digits (see crosstabs).  The latest Rasmussen Reports election survey shows Beebe leading Asa Hutchinson 49% to 38%.

ONE ARAB'S APOLOGY  —  WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11.  No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause.  However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.

Fears of revenge attacks on stingrays over Irwin death  —  At least ten stingrays have been found dead and mutilated on Australia's eastern coast in the last week in what conservationists believe could be revenge attacks for the death of Steve Irwin, the popular naturalist and television personality.

Video: Commanders privately express needing 3X more troops  —  U.S. Commanders in Iraq have privately expressed the need for an increase of three times the number of troops currently serving in Iraq, reports Michael Ware of CNN.  Officially, the military continues to say that …

CONSPIRACY CRANKS  —  CREATING CRAZED '9/11 TRUTH'  —  ON Feb. 7, 2005, I became a member of the Bush/Halliburton/Zionist/CIA/ New World Order/Illuminati conspiracy for world domination.  That day, Popular Mechanics, the magazine I edit, hit newsstands with a story debunking 9/11 conspiracy theories.

In Unpredictable District, Some Say Bush Is Politicizing Terrorism  —  Leaving services Sunday morning at Faith Bible Chapel, an evangelical megachurch, Jim McBride, a pilot who served in Vietnam, said he was not happy with President Bush's handling of Iraq.

Pakistan rape reform fails after Musharraf caves in  —  In a setback for women's rights in Pakistan, the ruling party in Islamabad has caved in to religious conservatives by dropping its plans to reform rape laws.  —  Statutes known as the Hudood ordinances, based on sharia law, currently operate in Pakistan.

Harvard Ends Early Admission  —  Harvard University, breaking with a major trend in college admissions, says it will eliminate its early admissions program next year, with university officials arguing that such programs put low-income and minority applicants at a distinct disadvantage …