General Weighs 2nd Troop Shift to Calm Baghdad  —  The top American military commander in Iraq said Tuesday that it was possible he might need to call for an increase in American troop levels in Baghdad to reinvigorate a plan to recapture the capital's streets from insurgents and death squads.

NAACP: Tenn. Senate ad plays to racism  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A political TV ad targeting a black candidate for Senate contains what critics, including the NAACP, are calling racist sexual innuendo about a black man and white woman.  —  The Republican National Committee ad began airing Friday …

One of FBI's 'Most Wanted Terrorists' confirmed dead  —  (CNN) — An al Qaeda operative wanted in connection with the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings was killed in April in Pakistan, American officials have confirmed.  —  Pakistani officials had said that Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah was killed …

Poll: Senate within Dems' grasp, but pitfalls remain  —  Control of the chamber could hinge on the outcomes in Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.  —  Washington — Democrats are within range of capturing a Senate majority, but face potentially decisive resistance from rural voters …

Insult to Injury in Iraq  —  It's been coming for a long time: the idea that fixing Iraq is the Iraqis' problem, not ours — that we've done all we can and now it's up to them.  —  Such arguments have been latent in the Bush administration's Iraq strategy and explicit in Democratic critiques of that strategy for some time.

Congressman From Arizona Is the Focus of an Inquiry  —  Federal authorities in Arizona have opened an inquiry into whether Representative Rick Renzi introduced legislation that benefited a military contractor that employs his father, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

COVERING IRAQ: THE MODERN WAY OF WAR CORRESPONDENCE (EXTENDED VERSION)  —  Would you trust a Hurricane Katrina report datelined "direct from Detroit"?  Or coverage of the World Trade Center attack from Chicago?  Why then should we believe a Time Magazine investigation of the Haditha killings …

The House Elections  —  People are always asking me, Which party is going to win the House elections?  The answer is, I don't know.  We have very many more publicly released polls than we used to have, and therefore more basis for making estimates.  But they're still just estimates, subject to error.

U.S. MILITARY: NO SIGNS OF SOLDIER MISSING IN IRAQ  —  Oct. 24: 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team soldiers stop traffic in the Karradah district looking for a missing translator.  —  Oct. 24: 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team soldiers stop traffic in the Karradah district looking for a missing translator.

The GOP Leans on A Proven Strategy  —  Beset by discouraging polls and division within ideological ranks, the White House is accelerating efforts to woo back disaffected conservatives and energize the Republican base in a reprise of a strategy that succeeded in the last two campaign cycles.

Can the '20th hijacker' of Sept. 11 stand trial?  —  Aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution  —  Bill Dedman  —  Mohammed al-Qahtani, detainee No. 063, was forced to wear a bra.  He had a thong placed on his head.  He was massaged by a female interrogator who straddled him like a lap dancer.

Federal Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education  —  The Bush administration is giving public school districts broad new latitude to expand the number of single-sex classes, and even schools, in what is widely considered the most significant policy change on the issue since …

Venezuelan's Diatribe at U.N. May Have Backfired  —  Venezuela's populist leader, Hugo Chávez, earned giggles and guffaws at the United Nations last month with his mass appeal diatribe ridiculing President Bush as the devil.  Mr. Chávez said he could still smell the telltale scent …

Minn. candidate plays up Iraq stance  —  MINNEAPOLIS - As his fellow Republicans try to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, Senate candidate Mark Kennedy is airing a TV ad in which he squarely states his support — "even though I know it may not be what you want to hear."

Bush Finding Welcome Mats as G.O.P. Looks for an Edge  —  President Bush cannot show up just anywhere in the waning days of this midterm campaign.  But there is a certain class of Republicans who are somewhere between eager and willing to have him at their sides.

Georgetown gets $20 million from prince promoting Islam  —  Just months later, university ejects evangelical Christians from campus  —  The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University has been renamed after Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal donated $20 million to its projects.

Western Press Ignores Iran's Hate-Filled Quds Day  —  The MEMRI Report  —  It is disturbing when the entire leadership of one nation, along with hundreds of thousands of its citizens, comes out with celebrations and parades every year that call for the annihilation of another country.

Veiled Insult  —  Quite a long time ago, having briefly joined the herd of 20-something backpackers that eternally roams Southeast Asia, I found myself in Bali.  Like all of the other 20-somethings, I carefully read the Lonely Planet backpacker's guide to Indonesia and learned, among other things …