Top Items:
MSNBC:
President says NIE leak was political, denies Iraq has worsened terrorism — WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday announced that he will declassify parts of the National Intelligence Estimate, which reportedly concluded that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism.
Discussion:
Political Animal, Right Wing News, Macsmind, Strange Women Lying in Ponds, Security Watchtower and TAPPED
RELATED ITEMS:
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
More Leaks, Please — Questioning the Iraq Intelligence Report — It's too bad we won't get to see the full National Intelligence Estimate on "Trends in Global Terrorism" selectively leaked to The Post and the New York Times last week. The Times headline read "Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism Threat."
Barry Schweid / Associated Press:
Bush to Release Part of Intel Assessment — President Bush on Tuesday said it is naive and a mistake to think that the war with Iraq has worsened terrorism, disputing a national intelligence assessment by his own administration. He said he was declassifying part of the report.
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, The Belmont Club, Wizbang, Hyscience, The Bullwinkle Blog, Media Blog and Say Anything
Justin Rood / TPMmuckraker:
BREAKING: Harman Calls for Release of Second Secret Iraq Report — There's a second damning Iraq report floating around the intelligence community. — At least, that's according to Rep. Jane Harman (CA), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee.
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
No Silent Majority for Bush — What could prove to be the most important factor in the 2006 elections is overlooked because it is unseen: The Republicans cannot try to curry favor with a "silent majority" that favors the Iraq war because a majority of Americans, both vocal and quiet, have come to see the war as a mistake.
Reuters:
W.House considers declassifying intelligence report —Text+WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Tuesday it may declassify an intelligence report in order to respond to Democrats who say the document shows the Iraq war has been a distraction from the war on terrorism.
Discussion:
The Political Pit Bull, Michelle Malkin, In From the Cold, A Blog For All, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wizbang, Sister Toldjah and Macsmind
Ian Bishop / New York Post:
RICE BOILS OVER AT BUBBA — RIPS 'FLATLY FALSE' CLAIM ON BUSH'S BID — TO GET BIN LADEN — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday accused Bill Clinton of making "flatly false" claims that the Bush administration didn't lift a finger to stop terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, Slate, The Anchoress, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere, Macsmind, Confederate Yankee, Brilliant at Breakfast, Ankle Biting Pundits, Hyscience, MSNBC, Think Progress, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Inside Cable News, IMAO, The American Princess, QandO, The Bullwinkle Blog, Sister Toldjah, Althouse, Liberal Values, Wizbang and Babalu Blog
RELATED ITEMS:
R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Detainee Measure to Have Fewer Restrictions — White House Reaches Accord With Lawmakers — Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed over the weekend to alter new legislation on military commissions to allow the United States to detain and try a wider range of foreign nationals …
RELATED ITEMS:
Matthew Yglesias / American Prospect:
Rogue State — Lawbreaker and torturer — that's America, loud and proud.
Rogue State — Lawbreaker and torturer — that's America, loud and proud.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Wiretap Bill Moves Closer to Passage
Wiretap Bill Moves Closer to Passage
Discussion:
New York Times, Salon: War Room, Unclaimed Territory, The American Street and The Volokh Conspiracy
Warren Fiske / Virginian-Pilot:
Ex-classmates charge that Allen has used racial epithet — RICHMOND - Three people, including Virginia's best-known political scientist, have charged that Sen. George Allen has used a racial slur to refer to blacks. Allen denounced the allegations as "ludicrously false."
RELATED ITEMS:
White House:
President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act — Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building — Fact Sheet: Achieving Greater Transparency and Accountability in Government — THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated — except for you all. (Laughter.) Welcome.
RELATED ITEMS:
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Bloggers will join Bush in bill-signing ceremony — President Bush has invited bloggers to join him today as he signs into law a bill creating a database of federal spending — a recognition of their role in forcing the bill through Congress over the objections of senior senators and an indication …
BBC:
US loses top competitiveness spot — The US has lost its status as the world's most competitive economy, according to the World Economic Forum. — The US now ranks only sixth in the body's league table of global competitiveness, behind Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore.
Ilya Somin / The Volokh Conspiracy:
DID THE REPUBLICANS CLAIM THAT CLINTON WAS TOO AGGRESSIVE IN GOING AFTER BIN LADEN? Orin's post raises the question of whether the Republicans supported Bill Clinton's efforts to get Osama Bin Laden back in 1998, or whether they instead thought that he was "wagging the dog" and being too aggressive.
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
BIG NEWS: John Bolton Confirmation Battle Really, Really Dead — The last pre-election loophole through which John Bolton's confirmation might have snuck through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was at 2:15 this afternoon at a previously called "business meeting" of the Committee.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Laura Sessions Stepp / Washington Post:
Syndicate Says 'Boondocks' May Not Return — Cartoonist Hasn't Answered Pleas to Resume Comic Strip — It's over for "The Boondocks" comic strip, at least for now. After six years — a remarkably short run for a strip that found its way into 300-plus newspapers, including The Washington Post …
Kim Sengupta / Independent:
The woman who defied the Taliban, and paid with her life — Women's rights campaigner in Afghanistan shot dead — One in two Afghan women a victim of violence — Suicide on the rise as Taliban's power increases — Safia Amajan promoted women's education and work …
Little Green Footballs:
Hate Like an Egyptian — Egyptian Religion of Peace™ representative Safwat Higazi waxes eloquent about his "beautiful dream"—a dream of a world in which Muslims are free to kill Jews at will. (Courtesy of MEMRI TV.) — Within certain well-defined limits, of course.