Top Items:
David Stout / New York Times:
At Hearing, Gates Says U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq — President Bush's nominee to be Secretary of Defense said today that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, and that an American failure there could help to ignite "a regional conflagration" in the Middle East.
RELATED:
CNN:
Senate committee approves Gates nomination … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved President Bush's defense secretary nomination Tuesday and sent it to the full Senate for approval, the committee's outgoing chairman said.
Robert Burns / Associated Press:
Gates Says U.S. Is Not Winning Iraq War — WASHINGTON (AP) - Robert Gates, the White House choice to be the next defense secretary, conceded Tuesday that the United States is losing the war in Iraq and warned that if that country is not stabilized in the next year or two it could lead to a "regional conflagration."
Yitzhak Benhorin / Ynetnews:
Gates does not rule out nuclear attack on Israel — US defense secretary-designate, testifying at his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, says he cannot guarantee that if Iran possesses nuclear weapons it will not use them to put Ahmadinejad's threats into action and wipe Israel off map.
The Daily Dish:
The Gathering Storm — Sanity in this White House? It's possible. One feels a sense of great relief to hear the candor of Bob Gates in his Senate hearings. We are losing the war in Iraq; and our incompetence may have triggered the beginning of a massive regional conflagration.
Des Moines Register:
Clinton reaches out to Iowans about 2008 — The senator is calling Democrats to gauge support for a possible White House run. — Sen. Hillary Clinton began making calls Monday to Iowa Democrats about the state's political landscape with an eye toward its 2008 presidential nominating caucuses, aides to Clinton said.
RELATED:
Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Bayh warns against ideological agenda — DES MOINES, Iowa - White House hopeful Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record) warned on Monday that Democrats could lose their newfound grip on Congress if the party pursues an ideological course. — The Indiana senator, who announced Sunday …
Newsweek:
'We Can't Afford to Leave' — As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops. — Dec. 5. 2006 - In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee …
Brendan Farrington / Associated Press:
First President Bush Sobs While Talking of Son — Former President George H.W. Bush came here Monday to talk about leadership and opened his remarks with advice on working with rivals, being patient and building personal relationships. — He then broke down in tears mentioning his son …
Daniel Zwerdling / NPR:
Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish — Medical records show that when Tyler Jennings returned from Iraq last year, he was severely depressed and used drugs to cope. When the sergeants who ran his platoon found out, they started to haze him.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The BRAD BLOG, Donklephant, Outside The Beltway, Kiko's House, Gun Toting Liberal and The News Blog
RELATED:
Robert Farley / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
The Answer is "No" — With due respect to the amount of server space that Ezra, Ezra, Ezra, etc. have dedicated to this discussion of the possibility of an alliance between liberals and libertarians, or in other iterations of how libertarians and liberals can be friends, I really …
Kos / Daily Kos:
2008: If Obama runs, he wins — Standard caveats aside (it's early, we don't have a set field, blah blah blah), it's hard to see how Barack Obama loses the nomination barring scandal or the mother-of-all gaffes. — I've been working up a few scenarios given the primary calendar …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Wing News, The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias and Decision '08
BBC:
Veiled woman to give C4's speech — A veiled Muslim woman will deliver this year's alternative Christmas speech on Channel 4, the broadcaster has said. — Khadija, a Zimbabwean-born British citizen who has been wearing the full veil - or niqab - for 10 years, has been given the slot.
Nicholas Wade / New York Times:
Neanderthal Women Joined Men in the Hunt — A new explanation for the demise of the Neanderthals, the stockily built human species that occupied Europe until the arrival of modern humans 45,000 years ago, has been proposed by two anthropologists at the University of Arizona.
The Smoking Gun:
Jose Padilla In Chains — Lawyers: Pics show mistreatment of alleged American "enemy combatant" — This series of video images shows a typical prison cell extraction of Jose Padilla, an alleged al-Qaeda operative who faces federal terrorism charges after being declared an "enemy combatant" by President George W. Bush.
Matthew Yglesias / American Prospect:
Bridge to Nowhere — Political consensus isn't going to solve America's Iraq problem. — Reading major American newspapers is a bit like trying to decipher an archeological text written in a dead language. Well-informed reporters bring you the facts you need to know …
Discussion:
The American Street
Examiner:
How to end AP's "60 Minutes Moment" on Iraqi Sources — You've probably not read much about it because only a handful of mainstream media outlets have covered it, but the Associated Press - for decades America's largest and most trusted wire news service - is at the center of a credibility crisis largely of its own making.
Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:
American Among Terror Plotters in Egypt — *Bumped* because I don't think this is getting enough press. An American. Arrested in Egypt. Part of an international cell of jihadis. For, at the very least, encouraging people to go to Iraq and fight Americans. That. Is. TREASON.
Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
SOLVING THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS....I've been waiting impatiently for Instapundit's promised "symposium" on Iraq, an ambitious attempt to see if the blogosphere can come up with better ideas than all those tired mainstream analysts. As it turns out, response was so overwhelming that we'll be getting multiple installments.
Robert Tait / Guardian:
Hardliners turn on Ahmadinejad for watching women dancers — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, who flaunts his ideological fervour, has been accused of undermining Iran's Islamic revolution after television footage appeared to show him watching a female song and dance show.