Doubts Increase About Strength of Iraq's Premier  —  Senior Iraqi and American officials are beginning to question whether Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has the political muscle and decisiveness to hold Iraq together as it hovers on the edge of a full civil war.

Dissidents' Detainee Bill May Face Filibuster  —  Frist Warns GOP Opponents of Bush's Proposal They Must Accept Two Key Provisions  —  Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist signaled yesterday that he and other White House allies will filibuster a bill dealing with the interrogation and prosecution …

Muslim violence  —  AS SHE LAY dying in a Mogadishu hospital, Sister Leonella forgave her killers.  She had lived in Africa for almost four decades and could speak fluent Somali, but her last words were murmured in Italian, her mother tongue.  ``Perdono, perdono," she whispered.  I forgive, I forgive.

At U.N., Chavez calls Bush 'the devil'  —  UNITED NATIONS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took his verbal battle with the United States to the floor of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, calling President Bush "the devil."  —  The impassioned speech by the leftist leader came …

McAuliffe to join Clinton  —  Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe has told business associates and Democratic donors that he will chair Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) presidential campaign next year, according to several Democratic sources.

Allen tells of his Jewish heritage  —  He acknowledges he knew of his lineage when faulting a reporter for her question  —  U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., yesterday acknowledged his Jewish ancestry, a day after angrily ducking a question about possible Jewish forebears in a debate with his Democratic challenger.

Hezbollah cracked the code  —  Technology likely supplied by Iran allowed guerrillas to stop Israeli tank assaults  —  AITA SHAAB, Lebanon — Hezbollah guerrillas were able to hack into Israeli radio communications during last month's battles in south Lebanon, an intelligence breakthrough …

Georgia Law Requiring Voters to Show Photo ID Is Thrown Out  —  Judge Says Some Would Be Disenfranchised; State Plans Appeal  —  A state judge yesterday rejected a Georgia law requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification, writing in his decision, "This cannot be."

WHO WAS THE "EDUCATED PERSIAN?"  —  Since the Papal Brouhaha erupted I have been very interested in identifying the "Educated Persian" with whom Manuel II Palaiologos carried on his famous religious debates.  The answer is fascinating.  —  First, it is important to note …

Another fifth anniversary  —  Today is the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush's great speech before a Joint Session of the United States Congress following the attacks of September 11, 2001.  The speech (transcript and links to video) names the enemy and declares the tactics that will be used against it.

The CBS Ambush  —  Remember the "Arab street," that riot-in-the-road featuring flammable Israeli flags, Saddam Hussein posters, clenched fists and chants threatening "Death to America"?  The street may have lacked pavement and a fire hydrant, but it had beaucoup television cameras.

The GOP case for tougher border enforcement  —  Border city: three in an occasional series on immigration issues  —  America must secure its border with Mexico.  We need to build hundreds of miles of fencing, vastly expand our sensor network, and give Customs and Border Protection the powers it needs to stop intruders.

Six Questions for Dr. Emile A. Nakhleh on the CIA and the Iraq War  —  Recently retired head of key CIA unit calls for Iraq "exit strategy"; says there was "no evidence" of Saddam-bin Laden links … 1. In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, administration officials claimed that Saddam Hussein's regime …

A Quiet Break for Corporations  —  Tariff Suspensions, Often Initiated by Companies Based Overseas, Keep Millions of Dollars From Flowing to the Treasury Each Year  —  For three generations, the Dungey family of Auburn, N.Y., has produced handmade dog collars and leashes for pet stores around the country.

H.P. Said to Have Studied Infiltrating Newsrooms  —  Hewlett-Packard conducted feasibility studies on planting spies in news bureaus of two major publications as part of an investigation of leaks from its board, an individual briefed on the company's review of the operation said yesterday.