Top Items:
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush Proclaims Support for Iraqi Premier — President Bush today proclaimed Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki "the right guy for Iraq," and said the two had agreed to speed the turnover of security responsibility from American to Iraqi forces. But Mr. Bush dismissed a reported decision …
Washington Post:
Bush: Calls for Troop Drawdowns Unrealistic — At Summit, President Stands by Iraqi Prime Minister, Discusses Speeding Up Security Handover — President Bush delivered a staunch endorsement of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Thursday morning and dismissed calls for U.S. troop withdrawals …
Washington Post:
Study Group to Call for Pullback — The Iraq Study Group, which wrapped up eight months of deliberations yesterday, has reached a consensus and will call for a major withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, shifting the U.S. role from combat to support and advising, according to a source familiar with the deliberations.
Michelle Malkin:
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.
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Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:
"Juba" the Baghdad Sniper Captured! — The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior announced that it has captured the Baghdad sniper known as Ali Nazar al Jubori. The name sounds eerily familiar. al Jubori....could this be the original Juba sniper? That is the claim being made.
Tom Zeller Jr / The Lede:
So Just Who Is Capt. Jamil Hussein? — They cycle of violence reached new levels in Iraq last week and into the weekend, but the military is complaining that one Associated Press report — and its source — was dodgy. (Photo: Karim Kadim/Associated Press)
Discussion:
In the Bullpen, Dean's World, Media Blog, The Belmont Club, Gateway Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard and Townhall.com Blog's …
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
As promised: Iraqi spokesman says AP police source is phony; Update: NYT blog picks up the story — Centcom said he'd mention it at today's MOI presser, and so he did: … An AP reporter was there but there's nothing on the wire yet. I'll update when there is.
Discussion:
JunkYardBlog
Greg Sargent / tpmcafe.com:
George Will Distorts WaPo's Own Reporting To Smear Jim Webb — This has to be one of the rankest displays of journalistic dishonesty I've seen in some time on the part of any columnist, large or small. — In today's Washington Post column, George Will assails Dem Senator-elect Jim Webb …
Discussion:
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George F. Will / Washington Post:
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 …
BBC:
Russian ex-PM has mystery illness — Former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in a Moscow hospital after falling violently ill on a trip to Ireland on 24 November. — Speculation is rife that he may have been poisoned. He fell ill a day after former Russian spy Alexander …
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
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 …
ABCNEWS:
EXCLUSIVE: Iranian Weapons Arm Iraqi Militia — Hezbollah Training Also Linked to Iraq Violence — U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories. According to a senior defense official …
Nico / Think Progress:
Right-Wing Radio Host Fabricates Controversy To Attack First Muslim Congressman — Right-wing radio host Dennis Prager wrote a column earlier this week claiming that Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress, had "announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible …
Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Republicans Want Vote on Abortion Bill — While they still can, House Republicans are looking at scheduling a vote next week on a fetal pain abortion bill in a parting shot at incoming majority Democrats and a last bid for loyalty from the GOP's base of social conservatives.
Dr. Sanity:
A BEAUTIFULLY DARK PLACE — This piece in American Thinker by Selwyn Duke is a must read for anyone who cares about free speech (hat tip: Larwyn). In "How We Will Lose Freedom of Speech" Selwyn says: … Read the entire piece. — Meanwhile, the crooks and liars at the blog of the same name …
Anita Wadhwani / thetennessean.com:
Christians must 'let go' some beliefs for sake of peace, theologian says — To live peacefully with Muslims and Jews, Christians must put aside the notion that their faith requires the creation of a Christian kingdom on Earth, a Lipscomb University theologian told an interfaith gathering at the university.
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
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.
The Daily Dish:
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?
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily