Top Items:
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 …
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New York Times:
Welcome Political Cover — When President Bush insisted that the Iraq Study Group would not provide cover for the White House to chart a "graceful exit" of American troops, he was missing the whole point. The much-anticipated report from the bipartisan panel is precisely about political cover.
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.
Discussion:
Slate, New York Times, The Reaction, The Democratic Daily, Donklephant, Macsmind, Hot Air and A Blog For All
Gregory Scoblete / TCS Daily:
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 …
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
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 …
The Truth Laid Bear:
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:
Captain's Quarters, Outside The Beltway, MsUnderestimated, Dean's World, Tammy Bruce, Atlas Shrugs and Instapundit.com
Agence France Presse:Baker panel's mention of Palestinian "right of return" raises eyebrows
Discussion:
New York Times, Jerusalem Post, Hot Air, QandO, FP Passport, Redstate, Insight, The Political Pit Bull and Roger L. Simon
Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:Senate Confirms Gates as Defense Secretary
Discussion:
CNN Political Ticker
Victor Davis Hanson / Townhall.com:
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
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Jaymes Song / Associated Press:
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.
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Justice Grover Versus Justice Oscar — SCALIA AND BREYER SELL VERY DIFFERENT CONSTITUTIONAL WORLDVIEWS. — If judicial confirmation hearings in the Senate were one-tenth as illuminating as last night's debate between Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer at the Capitol Hilton …
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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" …
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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 …
Kimberley A. Strassel / Opinion Journal:
Trusts Busted — The seamy underside of asbestos litigation. — Harry Kananian died in the year 2000 of mesothelioma—a cancer almost always caused by asbestos. But the legacy that may survive him is the role he is posthumously playing in exposing evidence of asbestos litigation fraud.
Ali Waked / Ynetnews:
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
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:
Michelle Malkin, Flopping Aces, 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.
Jeanne Cummings / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Pajamas Media:
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") …
New York Times:
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
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