U.S. strike kills Afghan Taliban leader  —  KABUL, Afghanistan - A top Taliban military commander described as a close associate of Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar was killed in an airstrike this week close to the border with Pakistan, the U.S. military said Saturday.

Generals: More troops needed in Iraq  —  Commanders made their decision before meeting with Defense Secretary Gates.  —  WASHINGTON — Top U.S. military commanders in Iraq have decided to recommend a "surge" of fresh American combat forces, eliminating one of the last remaining hurdles …

Lapping up Zawahiri's hate  —  By Nitpicker—You would think that Republicans would be shamed by the fact so many of them seem to agree, at least to some extent, with the beliefs of terrorists and other Muslim extremists.  For example:  — Dinesh D'Souza thinks that …

War on two fronts in Afghanistan  —  Just when it seemed matters could not get any worse in Afghanistan, along comes an altogether more alarming threat to Nato's attempts to restore order to that strife-torn region — in the form of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Blitzer: Ellison [not Goode or Prager] "touched off a raging controversy" … On the December 21 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, host Wolf Blitzer attributed a "raging controversy" to Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) for his reported intention to use a copy of the Quran as part of his swearing …

Shiites Remake Baghdad in Their Image  —  As the United States debates what to do in Iraq, this country's Shiite majority has been moving toward its own solution: making the capital its own.  —  Large portions of Baghdad have become Shiite in recent months, as militias press their fight …

'Nyet' on Iran  —  THE U.N. Security Council took up the Iranian nuclear program this year to pressure Tehran to suspend its work on enriching uranium.  But in the past few months, something entirely different has happened.  While Iranian enrichment has continued with impunity …

Democrats' Pledge to End Individual Financing of Pet Projects May Change Little  —  The Democrats taking over the Congressional appropriations committees next year have boldly pledged to place a moratorium on earmarks, the pet spending items that individual lawmakers insert into major spending bills behind the scenes.

Charges of Rape Against 3 at Duke Are Abandoned  —  The Durham district attorney dropped rape charges against three former Duke lacrosse players on Friday, but he said he would continue to pursue kidnapping and sexual offense charges that carry equally stiff sentences.

Royal Intrigue, Unpaid Bills Preceded Saudi Ambassador's Exit  —  Policy Dispute Regarding Iran Loomed Large  —  For more than a year, Saudi Arabia's ambassador journeyed to college campuses, chambers of commerce, town halls and world affairs councils across the United States in an ambitious campaign to improve his country's image.

Independent Appeal: 'What would happen if the Virgin Mary came to Bethlehem today?'  —  Johann Hari on the plight of pregnant women in the West Bank, where babies are dying needlessly  —  In two days, a third of humanity will gather to celebrate the birth pains of a Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem …

Christians suffer for Iraq, says archbishop  —  Christians in the Middle East are being put at unprecedented risk by the Government's "shortsighted" and "ignorant" policy in Iraq, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, says today.  —  In an extraordinary attack …

Virgil Goode's macaca moment  —  Rep. Goode is mistaken.  Not all of his constituents are narrow-minded bigots.  —  Virgil Goode isn't about to apologize for his racist diatribe that equates Muslims with illegal immigrants and terrorists.  He shouldn't apologize for his beliefs …

Rice: Iraq 'worth the investment'  —  U.S. is ready to elect black president, secretary of state says  —  WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Thursday that Iraq is "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars and said the U.S. can still win …

Hispanic groups call for moratorium on work raids  —  SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Hispanic groups and activists on Thursday called for a moratorium on workplace raids to round up illegal immigrants, saying they were reminiscent of Nazi crackdowns on Jews in the 1930s.

Religion does more harm than good - poll  —  82% say faith causes tension in country where two thirds are not religious  —  More people in Britain think religion causes harm than believe it does good, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today.  It shows that an overwhelming majority …