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 …

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".

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.

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 …

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 …

Chris Wallace, Caught Off Balance?  —  Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said that he was stunned when Bill Clinton accused him of a "conservative hit job" after he challenged the former president on his record in fighting terrorism.  —  "I thought it was a fair, balanced and not especially …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Specter-Levin Amendment  —  There is still a chance—maybe not a very good chance, but a real chance—to change one of the worst aspects of the detainee bill.  Carl Levin and Arlen Specter* are apparently planning to co-sponsor an amendment to remove the section that strips the courts …

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 …

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 …

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.

McCain Names Practices Detainee Bill Would Bar  —  Senator Says 3 Interrogation Methods Are Among the 'Extreme Measures' the Plan Would Outlaw  —  A Republican senator who played a leading role in drafting new rules for U.S. interrogations of terrorism suspects said yesterday that he believes …

Millions of Seniors Facing Medicare 'Doughnut Hole'  —  Millions of older Americans are confronting a temporary break in their Medicare drug coverage this month that will require them to pay the full cost of their prescriptions or face the painful prospect of going without.

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.

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 …