Iraq Removes Leaders of Special Police  —  The Iraqi government removed the country's two most senior police commanders from their posts on Tuesday, in the first broad move against the top leadership of Iraq's unruly special police forces.  —  The two generals had led Iraq's special police commandos …

Rove foresees GOP victory  —  White House political strategist Karl Rove yesterday confidently predicted that the Republican Party would hold the House and the Senate in next month's elections, dismissing fallout from the sex scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley.

A Lesson From Europe on Health Care  —  Shortly before he moved to Greece last year, an American named John Econopouly received the unpleasant news that he needed a hernia operation.  He had the surgery done in Northern California, and it didn't go so well.

Elections May Leave Bush An Early Lame Duck  —  On desks around the West Wing sit digital clocks counting down the days and hours left in the Bush presidency, reminders to the White House staff to use the time left as effectively as possible.  As of 8 a.m. today, those clocks will read 825 days, four hours.

Bush to Blame for North Korean Crisis, Soros Says (Update1)  —  Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) — Billionaire investor George Soros today blamed U.S. President George W. Bush for escalating tensions with North Korea, which last week tested a nuclear bomb for the first time.

Pennsylvania Senate: Santorum Trailing by 13  —  Casey (D) 54% Santorum (R) 41%  —  With just a few weeks to go until November 7, Senator Rick Santorum's chances of securing reelection fade a bit more every day.  The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll finds that challenger Bob Casey …

Bush Sets Defense As Space Priority  —  U.S. Says Shift Is Not A Step Toward Arms; Experts Say It Could Be  —  President Bush has signed a new National Space Policy that rejects future arms-control agreements that might limit U.S. flexibility in space and asserts a right to deny access to space to anyone "hostile to U.S. interests."

Governor's race turns ugly  —  Blackwell campaign links Strickland to predators, hints he's gay  —  COLUMBUS - With Republican Ken Blackwell trailing by double digits in almost every poll, Blackwell's campaign Tuesday tried to link his Democratic opponent to child sex predators …

Pro-Israeli editor beaten in Bangladesh  —  A Muslim journalist facing charges of sedition for advocating ties with Israel was recently attacked and beaten by a crowd in Bangladesh that allegedly included leading officials of the country's ruling party, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Which Way to Win?  —  As we head toward Election Day 2006, political analysts are focusing on a few dozen tossup races that will determine whether the Democrats take the House and Senate.  But there's a larger, overarching battle this year between two visions of America …

655,000 War Dead?  —  A bogus study on Iraq casualties.  —  After doing survey research in Iraq for nearly two years, I was surprised to read that a study by a group from Johns Hopkins University claims that 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the war.

Video: 'Wrong' Rosie won't voice support for US victory in Iraq  —  Bill O'Reilly was on this morning's "The View" to discuss his book, "traditionalists" and "secular progressives", and a variety of other issues.  —  Before Bill O came out with the gals, Rosie introduced "Disagree" and …

Alarm Bells for G.O.P. in a Battleground State  —  Supporters of both candidates in the Senate race in Ohio hit the streets on Friday in Dayton.  Senator Mike DeWine, a Republican, is trailing.  —  The bellwether state of Ohio appears to have become hostile terrain for Republicans this year …

Iraq war cost years of progress in Afghanistan - UK brigadier  —  Commander echoes criticism of Blair's foreign policy by head of army  —  The invasion of Iraq prevented British forces from helping to secure Afghanistan much sooner and has left a dangerous vacuum in the country for four years …

Human species 'may split in two'  —  Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.  —  Evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics expects a genetic upper class and a dim-witted underclass to emerge.

FBI Yet to Find Evidence of Foley-Page Sexual Contact  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  After interviewing some 40 former congressional pages, FBI agents have yet to turn up any evidence of direct sexual contact between underage pages and former Congressman Mark Foley.

Funding Constrains Democrats  —  Party Chiefs See Chance to Take 40-Plus Seats With TV Push  —  Top Democrats said yesterday that they are planning to significantly expand the number of GOP House seats they will target during the final 20 days of the campaign but that financial disputes …

Will You Fight With Them?  —  Anyone who comes to Huffington Post has seen that the bloggers here have been the first to stand up and defend veterans from Admiral Sestak to Tammy Duckworth when they've been slandered.  It should be a source of pride and testimony to how the blogosphere …