Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short  —  An extraordinary action by the chief of staff sends a message: The Pentagon must increase the budget or reduce commitments in Iraq and elsewhere.  —  WASHINGTON — The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders …

Iraq Report Rattles Races  —  Twist Hits Lieberman Before Speech On War  —  A conclusion by American intelligence agencies that the U.S. invasion of Iraq spawned a new generation of Islamic radicalism threw Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman a curve on the eve of a major campaign speech he intends to deliver today on the war.

Why Clinton "Lost His Temper"  —  The former president knew what he was doing.  —  LET'S DO A THOUGHT experiment: Perhaps Bill Clinton, an experienced and sophisticated politician, knew what he was doing when he made big news by "losing his temper" in his interview with Chris Wallace.

Webb's Dirty Tricksters: Salon  —  Sadly, the Webb campaign is continuing their attempt to make this Virginia Senate race about lies and rumor-mongering, rather than about issues.  In Salon today, an anti-tobacco and environmental activist claims Senator Allen "used "N-word" in college".

Iraqi president asks for long-term US military presence in Iraq  —  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in an interview, asked for a long-term US military presence in Iraq, saying his country will need two permanent US air bases to deter "foreign interference."  —  "I think we will be in need …

Harry Smith Taken Aback as CBS Analyst Blames Clinton for bin Laden Failures  —  Despite Bill Clinton's angry protestations, the bulk of the blame for America's failure to catch or kill Osama bin Laden lies squarely on the Clinton administration, at least according to terrorism analyst Michael Scheuer.

Women's rights campaigner shot dead in Afghanistan  —  A senior women's affairs official who has criticised the Taleban's treatment of women was shot dead outside her home in southern Afghanistan today.  —  Safia Ama Jan was getting into a car outside her house in the city of Kandahar when two gunmen on motorcycles opened fire.

Still Spending: Senate Set to Bust Budget Caps by $32 Billion  —  WebMemo #1222  —  Federal spending in 2006 is set to rise 9 percent, the largest increase since 1990 and enough to earn Congress near failing grades from the Heritage Foundation's third quarter report card.

In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power  —  Some of the courtrooms are not even courtrooms: tiny offices or basement rooms without a judge's bench or jury box.  Sometimes the public is not admitted, witnesses are not sworn to tell the truth, and there is no word-for-word record of the proceedings.

Is the Chief Justice Really a Judicial Activist?  —  John Roberts, who likened his role to a passive 'umpire,' may want to do more than just enforce the rules.  —  ONE YEAR AGO, John G. Roberts Jr., at the time President Bush's nominee to be the chief justice of the United States …

Christian Conservatives Look to Re-energize Base  —  Openly anxious about grass-roots disaffection from the Republican Party, conservative Christian organizers are reaching for ways to turn out voters this November, including arguing that recognizing same-sex marriage could also limit religious freedom.

Senior militant 'killed in Iraq'  —  British forces have killed a senior al-Qaeda fugitive in a raid on a house in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, security sources say.  —  Officials named the dead man as Omar Farouq, a top lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden in south-east Asia.

Who wanted to "cut and run" from Somalia?  —  My post this morning on Salon concerns the accusation voiced this weekend by Chris Wallace in his Fox News interview with President Clinton (a favorite accusation of neoconservatives) that Clinton "emboldened" Al Qaeda when he withdrew American troops …

U.S. to allow some liquids on airliners  —  WASHINGTON - The government is partially lifting its ban against carrying liquids and gels onto airliners, as long as they are purchased from secure airport stores, and will also permit small, travel-size toiletries brought from home, officials said Monday.

Study of Iraq War and Terror Stirs Strong Political Response  —  Democratic lawmakers, responding to an intelligence report that found that the Iraq war has invigorated Islamic radicalism and worsened the global terrorist threat, said the assessment by American spy agencies demonstrated …

Senate Panel Debates Detainee Bill  —  Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee sought to slow down the effort by President Bush and Congressional leaders to speed the passage of legislation on the treatment of terror suspects.  —  Senator Arlen Specter …

GOP aide busted for fake blog posts on liberal sites  —  Liberal bloggers have uncovered a staff member to Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) using government computers to make fake posts on liberal blogs in New Hampshire, today's ROLL CALL reports.  —  Heard on The Hill columnist Mary Ann Akers …

Free Trade at the Fore of Races  —  As wages stagnate, it's a hot issue in states like New York, Ohio and Michigan, where candidates debate the impact on workers.  —  WASHINGTON — Jack Davis remembers the night he left the Republican Party over free trade: Nov. 17, 2003 …

POLITICS: How Wrong Was Josh Marshall?  —  Plenty Wrong.  —  Now that it has been revealed that the main source for Bob Novak's column "outing" Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA employee was Richard Armitage, Colin Powell's right-hand man at the State Department and (like Novak) no fan of the Iraq War …

Fear and Loathing in The Land of the Pure  —  I am a refugee claimant in Canada.  This essay goes in great detail about why I am asking for asylum in the West.  —  Thank you to those who contributed the numerous sources.  I hope that, at the very least, the Immigration and Refugee Board …

Pa. judge to drop candidate from ballot  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. - A judge on Monday said he would remove the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from the November ballot because the party did not have enough valid signatures in its nominating petitions.  —  Carl Romanelli's candidacy had been challenged by state Democrats.

The Rise of Jihadistan  —  Five years after the Afghan invasion, the Taliban are fighting back hard, carving out a sanctuary where they—and Al Qaeda's leaders—can operate freely.  —  You don't have to drive very far from Kabul these days to find the Taliban.