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.
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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."
Discussion:
Macsmind, The World Wide Rant, Joust The Facts, PoliPundit.com, All Spin Zone and Nitpicker
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.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Gates says U.S. isn't winning in Iraq; Update: Armed …
Video: Gates says U.S. isn't winning in Iraq; Update: Armed …
Discussion:
A Blog For All
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 …
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.
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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 …
Paul Rieckhoff / The Huffington Post:
Investigation Reveals Military Punishing Wounded Troops — Soldier Tyler Jennings says that when he came home from Iraq last year, he felt so depressed and desperate that he decided to kill himself. Late one night in the middle of May, his wife was out of town, and he felt more scared than he'd felt in gunfights in Iraq.
Discussion:
NPR
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Daniel Zwerdling / NPR:
Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
Discussion:
Donklephant, The BRAD BLOG, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, Kiko's House and The News Blog
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:
Right Wing News, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, 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.
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.
Newt Gingrich / Human Events:
The 1st Amendment Is Not a Suicide Pact: Blocking the Speech That Calls for Our Death — I must have hit a nerve. — In New Hampshire last week, at a dinner hosted by the Loeb School honoring our 1st-Amendment rights, I called for a serious debate about the 1st Amendment and how terrorists …
Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:
'Civil war' and the real press scandal — The excited news coverage surrounding the decision by NBC, as well as other media outlets, to finally label the bloody chaos inside Iraq for what it really is, a civil war, came tinged with a strange, self-congratulatory tone, as if the journalists involved …
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.
Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:
"Don't Know" Leads for President in 2008 — Clinton, McCain, Obama, and Giuliani mentioned most frequently — PRINCETON, NJ — Many Americans cannot spontaneously think of the name of a person they would like to see elected president in 2008. While this lack of firm conviction …
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
White House:
President Bush Meets with His Eminence Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, Leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq — PRESIDENT BUSH: Your Eminence, welcome back to the Oval Office. This is the second opportunity I've had to meet with one of the distinguished leaders of a free Iraq.
BBC:
Anger over Dutch Srebrenica medal — Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have criticised the Dutch government for giving an insignia to UN peacekeepers who served in the city. — They said honouring Dutch troops who were charged with protecting the Muslim Bosnian enclave was "scandalous".
Sara Kugler / Associated Press:
NYC Health Board Votes to Ban Trans Fats — The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation's first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants - from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries. — The board, which passed the ban unanimously …
Times of London:
Russian security service 'led poison plot' — Intelligence services in Britain are convinced that the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko was authorised by the Russian Federal Security Service. — Security sources have told The Times that the FSB orchestrated a "highly sophisticated plot" …