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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, Hot Air, AMERICAblog, Captain's Quarters, Political Animal, Mike Allen, David Corn, ABCNEWS, Obsidian Wings, Security Watchtower, UN Dispatch, Blogs of War, NewsHog, newsweek, PoliPundit.com, KnoxViews, rubber hose, Wake up America, Don Surber, The Political Pit Bull, On Deadline, The Indepundit, jules crittenden, Suitably Flip, The American Mind, Right Wing Nut House, The Lede, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, QandO, WorldwideStandard.com and Joust The Facts
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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:
Sirotablog, The American Scene, The Horse's Mouth, Daily Kos, PrairiePundit and Middle Earth Journal
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:
Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Sundries Shack, Outside The Beltway, Riehl World View, The Strata-Sphere, AMERICAN FUTURE, ABCNEWS, The Carpetbagger Report, Right Wing Nut House, The Glittering Eye, Townhall.com Blog's …, No More Mister Nice Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, liberal catnip, Daimnation!, The American Mind, Air America Radio, CNN and The Heretik
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.
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 …
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
The Price of Iran's Help — DUBAI — On the eve of the Baker-Hamilton commission's report, a top Iranian official set a tough condition for his country's help in stabilizing Iraq, saying that Tehran isn't interested in such cooperation unless the Bush administration sets a timetable for withdrawing its troops.
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."
Associated Press:
Excerpts of Iraq Study Group Report
Excerpts of Iraq Study Group Report
Discussion:
neo-neocon, Redstate, Little Green Footballs, A Blog For All, TigerHawk, Matthew Yglesias and Ezra Klein
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, TigerHawk, Macsmind and A Blog For All
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
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Report: Democrats meet with Hamas?
Report: Democrats meet with Hamas?
Discussion:
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post, The American Pundit, The Political Pit Bull, Wizbang and A Blog For All
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 …
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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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.
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 …
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 …
David Rogers / Wall Street Journal:
Some Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack — Leaving Budget Decisions — To Democrats Could Disrupt — New Leadership's Agenda — WASHINGTON — Like a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats …
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 …
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 …
Chris Giles / Financial Times:
Richest 2% hold half the world's assets — Personal wealth is distributed so unevenly across the world that the richest two per cent of adults own more than 50 per cent of the world's assets while the poorest half hold only 1 per cent of wealth. — A survey released on Tuesday shows …
Mark Dunn / NEWS.com.au:
Bikini march sparks retort — MUSLIMS, socialists, unions and other groups will conduct a counter-rally against bikini protesters who plan to march on a Brunswick mosque on Saturday. — Police will monitor the demonstrations, with white supremacists claiming to have infiltrated bikini protest ranks …
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 …