Diplomat's suppressed document lays bare the lies behind Iraq war  —  The Government's case for going to war in Iraq has been torn apart by the publication of previously suppressed evidence that Tony Blair lied over Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

Rice Rejects Overture To Iran And Syria  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday rejected a bipartisan panel's recommendation that the United States seek the help of Syria and Iran in Iraq, saying the "compensation" required by any deal might be too high.

Ill Senator Is Called Responsive; Capital Is Riveted  —  Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat of South Dakota, was said to be in critical condition but "responsive" Thursday after an operation to stop bleeding in his brain, and Democrats declared that his condition would not imperil the narrow majority …

Castro Near Death, U.S. Intelligence Chief Says  —  Cuban President Fidel Castro is very ill and close to death, Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte said yesterday.  —  "Everything we see indicates it will not be much longer . . . months, not years," Negroponte told a meeting of Washington Post editors and reporters.

General Says Army Will Need To Grow  —  Iraq and Afghanistan Are Straining the Force, Chief of Staff Warns  —  Warning that the active-duty Army "will break" under the strain of today's war-zone rotations, the nation's top Army general yesterday called for expanding the force by 7,000 …

C-SPAN presses Pelosi on transparency  —  Noting that Democrats have pledged to increase transparency and accountability in government, C-SPAN Thursday called on House Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to give television viewers the same real-time access to views of the House floor as anyone sitting in the gallery would have.

'The Man From Nowhere'  —  What does Barack Obama believe in?  —  We are getting very excited.  Barack Obama is brilliant, eloquent and fresh.  He is "exciting" (David Brooks), "charming" (Bob Schieffer), "my favorite guy" (Oprah Winfrey), has "charisma" (Donna Brazile), and should run now for president (George Will).

Is Denver ready to turn blue?  —  DENVER — This one-time cow town at the foot of the Rockies is two time zones and 1,500 miles away from the power centers of New York and Washington, but city and state officials say it can handle the demands of 35,000 visitors and the intense spotlight …

Getting Serious About Iran: A Military Option  —  By Arthur Herman From issue: November 2006  —  As the impasse over Iran's nuclear-weapons program grows inexorably into a crisis, a kind of consensus has taken root in the minds of America's foreign-policy elite.

Today's Rationale?  —  Nine days until Christmas...and Mommy just got dragged away in handcuffs for a bunch of show arrests.  Nice.  —  The shifting rationale for the ICE raids on the Swift Meatpacking plants is making me very peeved.  What began as a "raid on illegal immigrants" …

Run Now, Obama  —  New Hampshire was recently brightened by the presence of Barack Obama, 45, who, calling the fuss about him "baffling," made his first trip in 45 years to that state, and not under duress.  Because he is young, is just two years distant from a brief career as a state legislator …

Death Sentences Decline, and Experts Offer Reasons  —  The number of death sentences in the United States has dropped to its lowest level in decades, according to recent studies, including one released Thursday that predicts the trend will continue because of publicity about cases in which people are wrongly accused of crimes.

MR. PRESIDENT, IF I MAY BE SO BOLD...  Most of our readers know the story of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg.  Ordered to hold Little Round Top at all costs, Chamberlain's 20th Maine fended off one attack after another.  Finally, Chamberlain's men were nearly out of ammunition …