memeorandum: Court: Execute Saddam Within 30 Days (Qassim Abdul-Zahra/Associated Press)

8:15 PM ET, December 26, 2006

Top Items:

Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:

Court: Execute Saddam Within 30 Days — Iraq's highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence and said he must be hanged within 30 days for the killing of 148 Shiites in the central city of Dujail. — The sentence "must be implemented within 30 days," chief judge Aref Shahin said.

Discussion: Power Line, The Moderate Voice, All Spin Zone, Riehl World View and PoliBlog (TM)

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

Bush in Texas to rethink Iraq course — CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush went to his ranch Tuesday to rethink U.S. involvement in Iraq as his spokesman hailed a Baghdad court's decision upholding the death sentence for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. — Saddam, who was deposed …

Discussion: The American Street and Daily Kos

Nancy Trejos / Washington Post:

Court Upholds Saddam's Death Sentence — An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling to execute deposed leader Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity and said he could hang within 30 days. — "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation," chief judge Aref Abdul-Razzaq al-Shahin …

CNN:

Iraqi appeals court upholds Hussein death sentence … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The Iraqi High Tribunal's appellate chamber on Tuesday upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence in the Dujail massacre case, Judge Aref Shaheen announced. — Shaheen said the court's decision was the final word in the case.

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Moderate Voice and Bill's Bites

Reuters:
Iraq court says Saddam should hang within 30 days

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Christine Hauser / New York Times:
Court Upholds Death Penalty for Hussein

Discussion: A Blog For All

Reuters:
Saddam loses death sentence appeal: govt official

Discussion: Bill's Bites

Juan / Informed Comment:
Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2006

Discussion: The Left Coaster, Liberal Values, AMERICAblog and Middle Earth Journal

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:

Islamist Forces in Somalia Are on the Retreat — Islamist forces in Somalia beat a hasty retreat today to their stronghold in Mogadishu, Somalia's battle-scared capital, crumbling faster than anyone expected after a week of attacks by Ethiopian forces. — Burhakaba, a large inland city …

Discussion: Washington Post, Riehl World View, toohotfortnr, Wake up America, Hot Air, In the Bullpen and Matthew Yglesias

International Herald Tribune:

In Somalia, a reckless U.S. proxy war — NAIROBI: Undeterred by the horrors and setbacks in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, the Bush administration has opened another battlefront in the Muslim world. With full U.S. backing and military training, at least 15,000 Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia …

Discussion: About U.S. Politics and New York Times

Salad Duhul / Associated Press:
Islamic forces on the retreat in Somalia

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Captain's Quarters, Gateway Pundit, A Blog For All, Outside The Beltway, Blue Crab Boulevard and jules crittenden

Christopher Torchia / Associated Press:

U.S. toll in Iraq surpasses that of 9/11 — BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 36 Iraqis died Tuesday in bombings, officials said, including a coordinated strike that killed 25 in western Baghdad. Separately, the deaths of six U.S. soldiers pushed the American toll beyond the number of victims in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Captain's Quarters, The Horse's Mouth, Little Green Footballs, The Democratic Daily, Liberal Values, BlondeSense, The Daily Brief, State of the Day, Liberty Street, Matthew Yglesias, The Impolitic, Democrats.com and Brilliant at Breakfast

Associated Press:
Military Deaths in Iraq Exceed 9 / 11 Toll

Discussion: Liberty Street

Marc Santora / New York Times:
Abuse Seen at Iraqi Jail Puts New Focus on Rogue Police

Discussion: Think Progress, Needlenose, Suburban Guerrilla and The Rude Pundit

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / Baltimore Sun:

Bush is bracing for new scrutiny … WASHINGTON // President Bush is bracing for what could be an onslaught of investigations by the new Democratic-led Congress by hiring lawyers to fill key White House posts and preparing to play defense on countless document requests and possible subpoenas.

Discussion: Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny!, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report and Political Animal

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
War Critics See New Resistance by Bush

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Pundit and Prairie Weather

Charlotte Raab / Agence France Presse:
Iraq quagmire erodes Bush's confidence and power

Discussion: Hot Air and The Jawa Report

Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:

Military considers recruiting foreigners — Expedited citizenship would be an incentive — An Armed Forces center in Plymouth. US officials are trying tactics to find recruits; one involves attracting noncitizens. (JULIA CUMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS) — WASHINGTON — The armed forces …

Discussion: Political Animal, Norwegianity and Old War Dogs

David Lightman / Hartford Courant:

Lieberman Defends Video-Game Money — WASHINGTON — It has become a holiday ritual: Joe Lieberman and family-research officials hold a well-attended press conference to decry the impact on children of excessive video game sex and violence. — And, again in 2006, Lieberman indulged …

Discussion: ConnecticutBLOG, The Carpetbagger Report and The Left Coaster

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Consultant Helps Democrats Embrace Faith, and Some in Party Are Not Pleased — As Democrats turn toward the 2008 presidential race, a novice evangelical political operative is emerging as a rising star in the party, drawing both applause and alarm for her courtship of theological conservatives in the midterm elections.

Discussion: Political Animal, MyDD, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Horse's Mouth, Professor Bainbridge's Journal and Liberal Values

Ezra Klein / Los Angeles Times:

Going universal — The American healthcare system is, simply put, a mess, but we may finally be ready to fix it. — THE STATISTICS, by now, are well known. Forty-seven million uninsured Americans. Premium increases of 81% since 2000. Small businesses failing, big businesses foundering …

Discussion: Middle Earth Journal, Crooks and Liars, Political Animal, The Agonist, The Carpetbagger Report, DonkeyRising, The Glittering Eye, Ezra Klein, The Impolitic, Andrew Sullivan and The Moderate Voice

Nick / Blogborygmi:

Grand Rounds 3.14 — Welcome to Grand Rounds, the collection of the best posts in medical blogging! — Grand Rounds has come a long way since the last time it was hosted here. By my count, eighty-nine unique bloggers have hosted 118 editions. This includes doctors, nurses, students …

Jerusalem Post:

Iran may declare major enrichment feat — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reportedly told members of the Iranian parliament on Tuesday that Iran would soon announce that it had managed to enrich uranium using 3,000 centrifuges, an Iranian MP told the FARS News Agency on Tuesday.

Discussion: Townhall.com Blog's …