Top Items:
United States Institute of Peace:
Iraq Study Group Report Released — Download the official report just released by the Iraq Study Group titled The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward - A New Approach. USIP is the facilitating organization for the Iraq Study Group (ISG), co-chaired by James A. Baker, III, and Lee H. Hamilton.
Discussion:
FP Passport, worldpublicopinion.org, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, Time, AMERICAblog, Political Animal, David Corn, Don Surber, Obsidian Wings, The World Wide Rant, Mike Allen, ABCNEWS, jules crittenden, Security Watchtower, Blogs of War, UN Dispatch, NewsHog, newsweek, PoliPundit.com, KnoxViews, Wake up America, On Deadline, The Indepundit, The Political Pit Bull, rubber hose, The American Mind, Suitably Flip, The Lede, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, QandO, Right Wing Nut House and WorldwideStandard.com
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Spencer Ackerman / American Prospect:
No Middle Ground — The Iraq Study Group calls its prescription "responsible transition;" there's nothing responsible about it. — Given the specific lineup of the 10 wise men and women serving on the Iraq Study Group, the most conspicuous absence is that of supermodel Heidi Klum.
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
A Study In Comity — Whatever the final impact of the Iraq Study Group report being issued today, for the 10 commission members this was an exhilarating experience, a demonstration of genuine bipartisanship that they hope will serve as an example to the broader political world.
Discussion:
Media Blog, Sirotablog, The American Scene, The Horse's Mouth, Daily Kos, PrairiePundit and Middle Earth Journal
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Threats Wrapped in Misunderstandings — The Iraq Study Group's prescriptions hinge on a fragile Iraqi government's ability to achieve national reconciliation and security at a time when the country is fractured along sectarian lines, its security forces are ineffective and competing visions threaten …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Washington Post:
Iraq Panel Calls Conditions 'Grave and Deteriorating' — Conditions in Iraq are "grave and deteriorating," with the prospect that a "slide toward chaos" could topple the U.S.-backed government and trigger a regional war unless the United States changes course and seeks a broader diplomatic …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Sundries Shack, Riehl World View, The Strata-Sphere, AMERICAN FUTURE, The Glittering Eye, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Wing Nut House, ABCNEWS, Townhall.com Blog's …, No More Mister Nice Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, liberal catnip, Daimnation!, On Deadline, The American Mind and Air America Radio
Associated Press:
Panel: Bush Iraq policy 'not working' — WASHINGTON - President Bush's policy in Iraq "is not working," a high-level commission said bluntly on Wednesday, prodding the administration to use diplomacy to stabilize the country and allow withdrawal of most American combat troops by early 2008.
Matthew Yglesias:
Lost in the Pony Fields — Now that I've read the whole thing, the good news about the Iraq Study Group report is that it's filled with accurate observations about the situation in Iraq. As Kevin Drum writes it's "more reality-based than the Bush administration, which represents at least a little bit of progress."
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web — Today's Video on WSJ.com: James Taranto discusses …
Best of the Web — Today's Video on WSJ.com: James Taranto discusses …
Associated Press:
Excerpts of Iraq Study Group Report
Excerpts of Iraq Study Group Report
Discussion:
neo-neocon, Redstate, A Blog For All, Little Green Footballs, TigerHawk, Matthew Yglesias and Ezra Klein
New York Times:
Panel Backs Overhaul of Iraq Policy
Panel Backs Overhaul of Iraq Policy
Discussion:
The American Street, AMERICAblog, I think ^(link) …, Gun Toting Liberal, First Draft, JustOneMinute and Reason Magazine
Agence France Presse:
Baker panel's mention of Palestinian "right of return" raises eyebrows
Baker panel's mention of Palestinian "right of return" raises eyebrows
Discussion:
Democracy Project
Deacon / Power Line:
ABOUT AS BAD AS ADVERTISED — I've read the executive summary …
ABOUT AS BAD AS ADVERTISED — I've read the executive summary …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Tammy Bruce, The Caucus, TigerHawk, Macsmind and A Blog For All
CNN:
Senate approves Gates as defense secretary … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Senate voted 95-2 Wednesday to approve Robert Gates as President Bush's choice to replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary. — The vote came a day after the nomination sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Enter the Grown-Up — ROBERT GATES' IMPRESSIVE—AND REASSURING—CONFIRMATION HEARINGS. — The most eyebrow-raising moment—of many such moments—in Robert Gates' confirmation hearings today came when Sen. Robert Byrd, the stentorian Democrat of West Virginia, asked if he favored attacking Iran.
David Stout / New York Times:
Senate Confirms Gates as Defense Secretary — Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee to be defense secretary, was confirmed by the Senate this afternoon, hours after the Iraq Study Group offered recommendations meant to gradually reduce the United States' role in Iraq and stem the increasing violence there.
Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:
Hamas smuggled $66 million in 8 months — Hamas officials have managed to smuggle more than $66 million in cash through the Rafah border crossing in the past eight months, a member of the Hamas-led government revealed Wednesday. — Meanwhile, sources close to the Hamas-led government claimed …
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Aaron Klein / WorldNetDaily:
Report: Hamas met delegation of Democrats — Source claims U.S. party willing to hold dialogue with terror group — JERUSALEM - Hamas met with a delegation of "important Democrats" who expressed interest in relations with the Palestinian terror group even if it doesn't recognize the right …
Daily Mail:
Does water STILL flow on Mars? — Dramatic new photographs of Mars have revealed the possible existence of water on its surface. — The images - released for the first time on Wednesday by the US space agency NASA - were taken earlier this year in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the Red Planet.
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Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Arrest Warrant Issued in Denver for Oregon Blogger — Many of you will remember the Deb Frisch - Protein Wisdom blog drama. — Dr. Frisch has removed her website, but many of her posts and comments can still be found on Technorati and Google. — After the Frisch-Goldstein drama …
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, Michelle Malkin, Patterico's Pontifications, Blue Crab Boulevard and Done With Mirrors
Lyndsey Layton / Washington Post:
5-day work week is a Capitol Hill culture shock — Democrats seek a businesslike image; many in GOP decry effect on families — WASHINGTON - Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own …
MSNBC:
NBC: 10 U.S. service members killed in Iraq — Meanwhile, mortar attack kills 8 Iraqis, wounds 40 in Sadr City district — Residents look at a minibus destroyed in a suicide bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr City on Wednesday. — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Ten American service members were killed …
Discussion:
THE CUNNING REALIST
A.M. Mora y Leon / Publius Pundit:
AUSTRALIAN BIKINI MARCH — Patriotic Australians, perhaps like this recent Miss Universe, will march for democracy in their bikinis Saturday to demonstrate their opposition to Sexy Saudi Swimwear — Enraged at the local mullahs' medieval declaration that unveiled women are 'uncovered meat …
BBC:
Radiation find in British embassy — Small traces of a radioactive substance have been found at the British embassy in Moscow following a precautionary check, the UK Foreign Office has said. — But officials said the levels of radiation found would not pose a risk to public health.
William Caldwell IV / Washington Post:
Why We Persevere — BAGHDAD — I don't see a civil war in Iraq. I don't see a constituency for civil war. The vast majority of the people want hope for their families, not to massacre their neighbors or divide their country. A poll conducted in June by the International Republican Institute …