Top Items:
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
President Confronts Dissent on Troop Levels — Bush Indicates Military Won't Dictate Numbers; Top General to Retire — The debate over sending more U.S. troops to Iraq intensified yesterday as President Bush signaled that he will listen but not necessarily defer to balky military officers …
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David S. Cloud / New York Times:
Wary Generals Tell Gates That Sending More Troops May Delay Security Role for Iraqis
Wary Generals Tell Gates That Sending More Troops May Delay Security Role for Iraqis
Discussion:
Dick Polman's American Debate
Telegraph:
Top British Army aide accused of spying — A military aide to the commander of British forces in Afghanistan appeared in court yesterday accused of spying. — Cpl Daniel James, 44, is charged under the 1911 Official Secrets Act with "prejudicing the safety of the state" by passing information …
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, jules crittenden, Power Line and Secular Blasphemy
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Times of London:
British soldier 'gave Army secrets to Iran' — A British soldier has been charged with passing secret information linked to the military campaign in Afghanistan to Iran, The Times has learnt. Corporal Daniel James, 44, appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London yesterday …
Josh Gerstein / New York Sun:
How an Ex-Aide to President Clinton Stashed Classified Documents — A former national security adviser to President Clinton, Samuel Berger, stashed highly classified documents under a trailer in downtown Washington in order to evade detection by National Archives personnel, a government report released yesterday said.
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, Sister Toldjah, Secrecy News, Power Line, Dean's World, Macsmind, The Corner, Decision '08, Iowa Voice and USS Neverdock
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Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Va. Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized — Republican Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office — Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member …
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Aftenposten:
Oslo rape statistics shock — Two out of three charged with rape in Norway's capital are immigrants with a non-western background according to a police study. The number of rape cases is also rising steadily.The study is the first where the crime statistics have been analyzed according to ethnic origin.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Reuters:
Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen Leader, Dies at 66 — ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmenistan's President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov died suddenly on Thursday after 21 years of iron rule, raising a risk of political instability in the energy-rich country that some feared could have an impact on Europe's gas supplies.
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The Blotter:
London Braces for Attack; 'Miracle' If There Isn't One — Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report: — British intelligence and law enforcement officials have passed on a grim assessment to their U.S. counterparts, "It will be a miracle if there isn't a terror attack over the holidays in London …
Reuel Marc Gerecht / New York Times:
In Iraq, Let's Fight One War at a Time — ONCE again American officials are growing dissatisfied with an Iraqi government. In Baghdad and in Washington, officials privately and the press publicly suggest that the Bush administration would prefer that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki fell …
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Jacob Weisberg / Slate:
A MORMON PRESIDENT? NO WAY. — Someone who refuses to consider voting for a woman as president is rightly deemed a sexist. Someone who'd never vote for a black person is a racist. But are you a religious bigot if you wouldn't cast a ballot for a believing Mormon?
Mary Beth Sheridan / Washington Post:
Muslims Mark Solidarity With Jews — Event Held Days After Iranian Meeting That Denied Genocide — Local Muslim leaders lit candles yesterday at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to commemorate Jewish suffering under the Nazis, in a ceremony held just days after Iran had a conference denying the genocide.
Discussion:
Wake up America, The Debate Link, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Moderate Voice, The Corner, Secular Blasphemy and Bring it On!
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Full Esteem Ahead — Time magazine asked a large number of people to name the Person of the Year. They were in a populist mood and named the largest possible number of Persons of the Year: Everybody. — Of course. The most capacious modern entitlement is not to Social Security but to self-esteem.
Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:
Tomorrow's Papers: Flynt Leverett & Saudi Palace Politics — For those up at 3 am when the morning newspapers are uploaded to the web, rush to the New York Times and the Washington Post. — Unless lawyers or other news get in the way, two very important pieces will be up.
John Podhoretz / New York Post:
DUBYA IN THE DUMPS — PRESS CONFERENCE A DISASTER — YESTERDAY, at a press conference that was unquestionably the most dispirited performance of his presidency, President Bush implicitly answered a question many close Bush watchers had asked after the thumpin' the Republican Party took in November.
Jamie Holly / Crooks and Liars:
Scarborough Sees The Light—Barnicle: "Bush is delusional" — Scarborough has made a definite turn-around on Bush over the past year, but it hasn't been as evident as it was on Wednesday's Scarborough Country. Joe appears to be totally fed up with the non-stop spin and ignorance coming …
Washington Post:
Mass. Governor's Rightward Shift Raises Questions — As he prepares for a 2008 presidential campaign, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has championed the conservative principles that guided President Ronald Reagan, become an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage and supported overturning …
Discussion:
eyeon08.com, The Right Angle, SOTUblog, PoliPundit.com, Obsidian Wings, AMERICAblog and Extreme Mortman
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
The Glenn and Helen Show: A Martha Stewart Christmas! — It's a Martha Stewart Christmas at the Glenn and Helen Show! Well, it's a show about Martha Stewart at Christmastime, anyway. We interview law professor Joan Heminway about her book, Martha Stewart's Legal Troubles, which comes out next week.
Discussion:
Professor Bainbridge's Journal