memeorandum: Kabuki of karnage — And so the American generals in Iraq … (The Talking Dog/The American Street)

6:35 PM ET, December 23, 2006

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: Riehl World View, Angry Bear, New York Times, Daily Kos, Middle Earth Journal, jules crittenden and Central Sanity

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.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Matthew Yglesias, CorrenteWire and Inactivist

The Talking Dog / The American Street: Kabuki of karnage — And so the American generals in Iraq …

Atrios / Eschaton:
Wrong — I'm sympathetic to Kevin's thinking about this stuff …

Discussion: Political Animal and Liberty Street

BarbinMD / Daily Kos:
The Insight of General Casey

Discussion: Think Progress

MSNBC:

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 …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and NewsHog

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 …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, WorldwideStandard.com and The Washington Note

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Mahdi Christmas: Security Council approves meaningless sanctions on Iran

Discussion: Reuters

Randy Hall / CNSNews:

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.

Discussion: The Mahablog and Jihad Watch

Media Matters for America:
Blitzer: Ellison [not Goode or Prager] "touched off a raging controversy"

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

The Roanoke Times: Virgil Goode's macaca moment

Rachel L. Swarns / New York Times:
Bush Is Urged to Act on Criticism of Muslim

Discussion: Media Matters for America, ConnecticutBLOG and Bark Bark Woof Woof

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.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, DownWithTyranny!, Captain's Quarters, Liberty Street, Outside The Beltway, Dependable Renegade, Assorted Babble, The Political Pit Bull, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, The New Editor and Inactivist

Qassim Abdul-Zahra / ABCNEWS:

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 …

Discussion: Riehl World View

Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters: Sistani Balks — The carefully-laid plans to form …

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."

Con Coughlin / Telegraph:
War on two fronts in Afghanistan

Discussion: NewsHog

Faster, Please!:
The Mask Comes Off the Mullahs. Again.

Discussion: Regime Change Iran

Washington Post:

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 …

Discussion: Greg Mankiw's Blog, Cafe Hayek and Redstate

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 …

Discussion: Yourish.com, Wizbang, One Hand Clapping and Shakespeare's Sister

Directorblue / Doug Ross:

The Sandy Berger Experiment: Bush Official Destroyed 9/11 Documents — Former National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice was accused of the theft and destruction of classified materials related to 9/11. — In 2003, Rice spent several days reviewing classified materials in the National Archives …

Discussion: Roger L. Simon, Washington Post, The Belmont Club and Riehl World View

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

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 and New York Times

Media Matters for America:

Misinformer of the Year: ABC — In October 24 appearances on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes, ABC News political director Mark Halperin claimed that the "old media" — broadcast news outlets and major newspapers — were "biased against conservatives; there's no doubt about it."

Discussion: Liberal Values