memeorandum: Contenders for DCCC chairmanship campaign quietly (Jonathan E. Kaplan/The Hill)

7:30 PM ET, December 6, 2006

Top Items:

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.

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: Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Sundries Shack, Outside The Beltway, Riehl World View, The Strata-Sphere, AMERICAN FUTURE, The Carpetbagger Report, The Glittering Eye, Townhall.com Blog's …, No More Mister Nice Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, liberal catnip and Daimnation!

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: Sirotablog, The Horse's Mouth and Daily Kos

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.

New York Times:

Panel Backs Overhaul of Iraq Policy — Saying that "the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating," a bipartisan commission today urged stepped-up diplomatic and political efforts to stabilize that country, coupled with a shift in the mission of the American military to allow the United States to …

Discussion: The American Street, AMERICAblog, Gun Toting Liberal, I think ^(link) …, JustOneMinute and First Draft

Associated Press:

Excerpts of Iraq Study Group Report — Here are excerpts from portions of the Iraq Study Group report, which was being released Wednesday: — ''The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved.''

Discussion: A Blog For All, Little Green Footballs, Matthew Yglesias, jules crittenden and The Carpetbagger Report

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:

PRO FORMA REMARKS ON THE BAKER COMMISSION REPORT.....I can't very well say nothing about the Baker-Hamilton report, can I? On the other hand, I'm sort of shaking my head trying to figure out anything I ought to say about it. But let's take a look anyway. — It calls for a five-fold increase …

Discussion: New York Times, American Footprints and The Belgravia Dispatch

Deacon / Power Line:

ABOUT AS BAD AS ADVERTISED — I've read the executive summary of the Iraq Study Group report. That's probably all I'll have time to read today. — According to the summary, the ISG is making two recommendations. First, it's recommending that the U.S. actively engage Iraq's neighbors …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Tammy Bruce and TigerHawk

Matthew Yglesias:
Lost in the Pony Fields

Discussion: TAPPED

Editor and Publisher:
As New Talk of Sending More Troops to Iraq Builds, Poll Shows …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Price of Iran's Help

Discussion: Back Talk, Ezra Klein, TalkLeft and PrairiePundit

Jeff Jacoby / Boston Globe:
The danger of engaging with the enemy

Discussion: Opinion Journal, Blue Crab Boulevard and PrairiePundit

Pajamas Media:
The Baker Report: Speak Loudly and Carry a Small Stick

Discussion: The Belmont Club and Instapundit.com

Insight:
Baker wants Israel excluded from regional conference

Discussion: Hot Air

Ed Henry / CNN:
Iraq Study Group: Pull most troops from combat by '08

Discussion: New York Times, ABCNEWS, neo-neocon, Donklephant, Shakespeare's Sister, On Deadline, The News Blog, The Reaction, QandO, Think Progress and The American Street

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Senators So Very, Very Not Contrary Toward Gates

Discussion: New York Times and The Caucus

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.

Discussion: nasa.gov and Reason Magazine

BBC: Water flowed 'recently' on Mars

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 …

Discussion: Yourish.com, A Blog For All and Power Line

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 …

Jonathan E. Kaplan / The Hill:

Contenders for DCCC chairmanship campaign quietly — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairmanship seems to be the job nobody wants but everyone is willing to accept — at least on the surface. — Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who controls the appointment …

Discussion: Blogometer, MyDD and The Moderate Voice

Washington Post:

Hillary Clinton's Early Moves — No Decision on '08 Bid, But Campaign Machine Is Already Humming — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is taking a series of concrete steps toward a likely campaign for president in 2008, settling on key members of her campaign team …

Discussion: CBS News, The Carpetbagger Report and CNN Political Ticker

Darshak M. Sanghavi, M.D. / New York Times:

Wanting Babies Like Themselves, Some Parents Choose Genetic Defects — Wanting to have children who follow in one's footsteps is an understandable desire. But a coming article in the journal Fertility and Sterility offers a fascinating glimpse into how far some parents may go to ensure …

Discussion: Dean's World, Unfogged and Patterico's Pontifications

Lyndsey Layton / Washington Post:

Culture Shock on Capitol Hill: House to Work 5 Days a Week — Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January. — The horror.

Discussion: USA Today, Firedoglake, Sunlight Foundation blogs, The Carpetbagger Report, NewDonkey.com, Captain's Quarters, DownWithTyranny!, The Corner, TPMmuckraker, The Impolitic, Shakespeare's Sister, TPMCafe blogs, Talking Points Memo, Joust The Facts, The Moderate Voice, BlondeSense and Attytood

Debra Burlingame / Opinion Journal:

On a Wing and a Prayer — Grievance theater at Minneapolis International Airport. … Those are the words that started it all. Six bearded imams are said to have shouted them out while offering evening prayers as they and 141 other passengers waited at the gate for their flight out of Minneapolis International Airport.