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.

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.

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.

NASA Plans Permanent Moon Base  —  NASA announced plans on Monday for a permanent base on the Moon, to be started soon after astronauts return there around 2020.  —  The agency's deputy administrator, Shana Dale, said the United States would develop rockets and spacecraft to get people to the Moon and establish a rudimentary base.

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.

Is the FBI doing its best to combat terrorism?  —  Highest-ranking Arab-American agent says no, sues for discrimination  —  WASHINGTON - Bassem Youssef is the FBI's highest-ranking Arab-American agent.  He's fluent in Arabic, ran the FBI's offices in Saudi Arabia and is a terrorism expert.

The Military and The Media  —  FALLUJAH, IRAQ: I've completed the first leg of the journey to Iraq, after having moved through Dubai, Kuwait and Baghdad.  I am now at Camp Fallujah.  While in Fallujah, I'll embed with a Marine Police Transition Team (PTT) and also meet with the Civil Affairs Group.

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 …

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.

Court Reviews Race as Factor in School Plans  —  By the time the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments on Monday on the student-assignment plans that two urban school systems use to maintain racial integration, the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional.

I: About That Cakewalk ...  I remember sitting with Richard Perle in his suite at London's Grosvenor House hotel and receiving a private lecture on the importance of securing victory in Iraq.  "Iraq is a very good candidate for democratic reform," he said.  "It won't be Westminster overnight …

No, the Cops Didn't Murder Sean Bell  —  And here's what decent black advocates would say.  —  New York's anti-cop forces have roared back to life, thanks to a fatal police shooting of an unarmed man a week ago.  The press is once again fawning over Al Sharpton, Herbert Daughtry …

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.

A Dream of Mature Nations  —  A number of Canadians took offense recently to a Boston Herald column in which I slammed Canada and Europe in general for failing to hold up their end in this war for democracy, freedom and security.  Specificially, I slammed them for being smug democracies …

Nearing '08 Decision, Pataki Heads to New Hampshire and Iowa  —  ABC News' Teddy Davis and Karuna Seshasai Report: As he nears a decision on whether to run for president in 2008, Gov. George Pataki (R-NY) is planning to travel to New Hampshire and Iowa on Wednesday.

The Two Obamas and Me, Part One  —  At the end of the 2004 presidential primary season and how, after Howard Dean's loss, I found great hope in Barack Obama when I briefly moved to Chicago during the Illinois Senate primary.  Reading the latest piece in the media whirlwind surrounding Obama …

Islam gets concessions; infidels get conquered  —  What they capture, they keep.  When they lose, they complain to the U.N.  —  IN THE DAYS before Pope Benedict XVI's visit last Thursday to the Hagia Sophia complex in Istanbul, Muslims and Turks expressed fear, apprehension and rage.