Top Items:
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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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.
Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
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.
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 …
Agence France Presse:
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.
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.
Washington Post:
The Realists' Repudiation Of Policies for a War, Region — The Iraq Study Group report released yesterday might well be titled "The Realist Manifesto." — From the very first page, in which co-chairmen James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton scold that "our leaders must be candid and forthright …
United States Institute of Peace:Iraq Study Group Report Released
Discussion:
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Anne Plummer Flaherty / Associated Press:Gates confirmed as secretary of defense
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Allahpundit / Hot Air:Report: Democrats meet with Hamas?
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post, Insight, The American Pundit, The Political Pit Bull, Wizbang and PoliPundit.com
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, The Jawa Report, BizzyBlog, A Blog For All, Power Line, Sigmund, Carl and Alfred, Ace of Spades HQ and Macsmind
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Gateway Pundit:
Iranian Students Protest Regime... Shout "Death to Dictators!" — ** Thousands of Iranian students rallied against the regime today in Tehran! Iranian Students at Tehran University gathered earlier today to commemorate "Students Day" and protest the brutal regime. — The students shouted, "Death to the Dictatorship!"
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Michelle Malkin:
The Great Australian Bikini March; Plus: Muslim boys urinate on Bible — Aussie ladies are taking to the streets in their two-piece swimwear to protest those thug mullahs who attacked unveiled women as "uncovered meat." (Hat tip - Ace) — A.M. Mora y Leon at Publius Pundit notes:
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Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
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.
Associated Press:
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" …
T. F. Boggs / t.f. boggs:
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 …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
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
Ned Parker / Times of London:
'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.
Agence France Presse:
Follow God or vanish, Ahmadinejad tells West — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Western leaders to follow the path of God or "vanish from the face of the earth". — "These oppressive countries are angry with us ... a nation that on the other side of the globe has risen …
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