Iraq Panel to Recommend Pullback of Combat Troops  —  The bipartisan Iraq Study Group reached a consensus on Wednesday on a final report that will call for a gradual pullback of the 15 American combat brigades now in Iraq but stop short of setting a firm timetable for their withdrawal …

Rumors and reporting in Iraq  —  ***scroll for updates...NYTimes blogger Tom Zeller Jr weighs in...plus: bloggers note the significance of the capture of Mazer Al-Jubouri, aka the Baghdad Sniper, and his group...***  —  I've been following up with CENTCOM on the Associated Press/sketchy sources brouhaha.

Already Too Busy for Civility  —  That was certainly swift.  Washington has a way of quickly acculturating people, especially those who are most susceptible to derangement by the derivative dignity of office.  But Jim Webb, Democratic senator-elect from Virginia, has become a pompous poseur …

Democrats Reject Key 9/11 Panel Suggestion  —  Neither Party Has an Appetite for Overhauling Congressional Oversight of Intelligence  —  It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement …

'Spy' radiation alert for 33,000 BA passengers  —  More than 33,000 British Airways passengers faced a radiation scare last night as three planes were grounded over fears that they have been contaminated by the toxin that killed Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko.

Colin Powell says Iraq in a 'civil war' … DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that Iraq's violence meets the standard of civil war and that if he were heading the State Department now, he might recommend that the administration use that term.

FEMA Told to Resume Storm Aid  —  Judge's Ruling May Affect Thousands On the Gulf Coast  —  The Bush administration unconstitutionally denied aid to tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and must resume payments immediately, a federal judge ordered yesterday.

Rule of Law 101 and Neoconservatism  —  Last year, the Bush administration and the GOP-led Congress jointly created a 5-person, tootheless, subpoena-less "panel" to monitor how "civil liberties issues" are handled as part of the "war on terror."  They handpicked five members and …

Spare Us, Hillary  —  She really shouldn't run.  It would divide and polarize the country; she's dreadful on the stump; she has very high negatives; most Democrats only like her; almost no-one loves her; and do we really want 20 years of two families in the White House?  Besides: what do you do with Bill?

UN troops face child abuse claims  —  Children have been subjected to rape and prostitution by United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti and Liberia, a BBC investigation has found.  —  Girls have told of regular encounters with soldiers where sex is demanded in return for food or money.

50 Shots  —  Around 4 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, several New York City police officers in plain clothes fired an estimated 50 shots at a car, wounding two black men and killing a third, 23-year-old Sean Bell.  Some police bullets penetrated nearby homes.  Although an undercover officer …