Top Items:
Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times:
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 …
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Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
ONE LAST PUSH....Guess what? Our commanders on the ground have met with their superiors and decided that we do need more troops in Iraq after all. They're now backing the "surge" plan: … So we're not quite sure what we're going to do with them, but after meeting with the new SecDef we're suddenly quite sure we need them.
Jason Straziuso / Associated Press:
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.
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Captain's Quarters, DownWithTyranny!, Dependable Renegade, Outside The Beltway, The New Editor and Inactivist
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The Big Trunk / Power Line:
THE MULLAHS AT WAR — Yesterday Michael Ledeen posted another installment of his continuing comments on the Iranian war against the West in general and the United States in particular: "The mask comes off the mullahs. Again." This installment is based on Con Coughlin's Telegraph column: "War on two fronts in Afghanistan."
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Nitpicker / Unclaimed Territory:
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 …
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Media Matters for America:
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 …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
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Robin Wright / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Flurry of Calls About Draft, and a Day of Denials — As the de facto media contact for the Selective Service System, Dick Flahavan is the Maytag repairman of government press people. With the military draft out of business since 1973, the Selective Service just doesn't get a lot of calls these days.
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
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 …
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
Prairie Weather
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Washington Post:
'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 …
Times of London:
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 …
Independent:
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 …
Associated Press:
5 Soldiers Killed by Iraqi Insurgents — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Insurgent attacks killed five more American troops west of the Iraqi capital, the military said Friday, making December the second deadliest month for U.S. servicemen in 2006. — So far this month, 76 American troops have died in Iraq …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Guardian:
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 …
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protein wisdom
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