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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 …
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The Iraq Study Group Report — As most folks are aware by now, I've posted a HTML version of the Iraq Study Group Report here. Why? Because a monolithic PDF document is rather unwieldy, and makes it difficult for bloggers to comment on particular sections of the document and refer their readers to that exact section.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, Outside The Beltway, MsUnderestimated, Dean's World, Tammy Bruce, Atlas Shrugs and Instapundit.com

'I'll flee the country as soon as the US leaves' — The Iraqi sergeant has dodged bullets from the al-Mahdi Army and traded fire with Sunni insurgents. — Yet in his years with the Iraqi Army he has learnt one simple lesson: once the US military pulls back in Iraq, he should leave the country if he wants to survive.


Will Iraq Study Group's Plan Work on the Battlefield? — The military recommendations issued yesterday by the Iraq Study Group are based more on hope than history and run counter to assessments made by some of its own military advisers. — Ever since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 …


Baker panel's mention of Palestinian "right of return" raises eyebrows — A reference to Palestinians' "right of return" in the report issued by the high-level Iraq Study Group broke a diplomatic taboo which sparked immediate concern in Israel and surprise among Middle East policy experts.

No Middle Ground — The Iraq Study Group calls its prescription …

Senate Confirms Gates as Defense Secretary
Discussion:
CNN Political Ticker

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.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Reaction, The Democratic Daily, Hot Air, Donklephant, Macsmind and A Blog For All
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What Rumsfeld's Critics Don't Get — Many Iraq war supporters greeted the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with a sigh of relief, if not a quiet cheer. — Neoconservatives like the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol and war historian Frederick Kagan began clamoring …


Pearl Harbor survivors meet for last time — PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.
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Our Pearl Harbor — On Dec. 7, 1941 — 65 years ago this week — pilots from a Japanese carrier force bombed Pearl Harbor. They killed 2,403 Americans, most of them service personnel, while destroying much of the American fleet and air forces stationed in Hawaii.
Discussion:
Power Line

Case of the Dwindling Docket Mystifies the Supreme Court — On the Supreme Court's color-coded master calendar, which was distributed months before the term began on the first Monday in October, Dec. 6 is marked in red to signify a day when the justices are scheduled to be on the bench, hearing arguments.
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Report: Hamas ministers met with US, EU officials — Palestinian source says ministers of Hamas-led government met with senior political officials in Europe, who showed their understanding for organization's stance. In US, Hamas representatives meet with senior members of Democratic Party
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What we should and should not do: An Authoritative Voice... After watching the Iraq Survey Group press conference today I am a firm believer that all politicians are idiots. Okay well not all of them but they all have a problem understanding reality. If any politician is reading …


Postcampaign Lobbying Thrives — Democrats Are Fêted — Ahead of Push — For Stricter Ethics Rules — WASHINGTON — Democrats may be promising a clampdown on lobbyist freebies once they take control of Congress. But ahead of that push, party leaders are collecting lobbyists' checks …


Former Aide Parts With Carter Over Book — An adviser to former President Jimmy Carter and onetime executive director of the Carter Center has publicly parted ways with his former boss, citing concerns with the accuracy and integrity of Mr. Carter's latest book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid."
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker


Feingold Cuts Through The ISG Hype on Countdown — Keith Olbermann had Russ Feingold on to give his assessment of the now very famous Iraq Study Group report. — Video - WMV Video -QT — Feingold said what I have felt all day. This report does not give us a clear path in Iraq and leaves the future of the war up in the air.


SPECIAL TO PJM: Iran Supreme Leader Hospitalized. Condition Grave. — Three days ago, Iran's dictator, Supreme Leader Ayatollah ali Khamenei, was rushed to the vast medical facility traditionally known as "Vanak" hospital (it now has an Arabic name that means "the 12th Imam Hospital") …

Mixed reaction to Cheney's daughter's pregnancy … WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces "a lifetime of sleepless nights" …