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.

U.N. unanimously approves Iran sanctions  —  Tehran immediately rejects Security Council resolution on nuke activity  —  UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose economic sanctions on Iran for refusing to end a uranium enrichment program that the United States …

Islamic Group Has Mastered Victimization Game, Critic Says  —  (CNSNews.com) - The Republican lawmaker who sparked a storm with comments about Muslims and the need to tighten immigration laws is the latest target of an Islamic advocacy group's "victimization game," a political analyst said Thursday.

How Free Trade Hurts  —  Fewer and fewer Americans support our government's trade policy.  They see a shrinking middle class, lost jobs and exploding trade deficits.  —  Yet supporters of free trade continue to push for more of the same — more job-killing trade agreements …

Shiite Cleric Won't Support Coalition  —  Iraq's Most Revered Shiite Cleric Withholds Support for Plan to Construct Broad Coalition  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 23, 2006 (AP)— Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines …

When Resolve Turns Reckless  —  There's something much worse than being accused of "flip-flopping": refusing to flip when it's obvious that your course of action is a flop.  —  I say this to President Bush as someone who learned the hard way how embracing the world's complexity can be twisted into a crude political shorthand.

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 …

Man sets self aflame in Calif. protest  —  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

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.

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. … This installment is based on Con Coughlin's Telegraph column: "War on two fronts in Afghanistan."

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 …

Che Guevara CD case pulled from shelves  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Target Corp said on Friday it had pulled a CD carrying case bearing Ernesto "Che" Guevara's image after an outcry by critics who label the Marxist revolutionary a murderer and totalitarian symbol.

SA: The curtain closes  —  I realize that this will come as a shock to SA readers, but for professional and personal reasons I have decided it is time for Southern Appeal to call it quits.  In doing so, I cannot even begin to express how much I appreciate the contributions of my co-bloggers …