Islamists Seem to Give Up Grip on Somali City  —  The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital, Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away.

Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq  —  Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified.  "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush had launched the invasion advocated …

Reid to miss Ford funeral  —  WASHINGTON - Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will miss the state funeral for former President Gerald Ford at the Capitol Rotunda on Saturday night, opting instead to lead a delegation to South America with an expected stop at the Machu Picchu Inca ruins.

Close Adviser to Sadr Dies in U.S.-Iraqi Raid  —  A top deputy of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was killed Wednesday during a raid by U.S. and Iraqi troops in the southern holy city of Najaf, sparking protests from Sadr's followers and complicating an already tense relationship with the powerful anti-American leader.

Exclusive: Hizbullah paying terrorists for Kassam attacks  —  Hizbullah is paying Palestinian splinter groups "thousands of dollars" for each Kassam rocket fired at the western Negev, The Jerusalem Post has learned.  —  According to Israeli intelligence information, Hizbullah is smuggling cash …

Blair on Islam: Standard-Bearer of Tolerance  —  A quote from Tony Blair in Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007  —  To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is.  I write with great humility as a member of another faith.  As an outsider, the Koran strikes …

Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume E-6, Documents on Africa, 1973-1976  —  Released by the Office of the Historian  —  THE SEIZURE OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN EMBASSY IN KHARTOUM  —  In the early evening hours of 1 March 1973, eight Black September Organization (BSO) terrorists seized …

Edwards's Theme: U.S. Poverty  —  Amid Iraq Talk, White House Hopeful Sticks to '04 Issue in '08 Run  —  For the roughly two dozen candidates considering a run for the White House, it is perhaps the jackpot question: What might be the winning message in a contest whose first nominating vote is still more than a year away?

RUDY'S ANGELS OF 9/11  —  EYES SUPPORT FOR '08  —  Supporters of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have started discussions with relatives of 9/11 victims about backing him if he runs for president in 2008, some family members told The Post.  —  The conversations have taken place in recent weeks …

Commentary: Focus on border enforcement, not wall  —  A famous poet once wrote that "good fences make good neighbors."  However, this author did not have to deal with the realities of homeland security, where a wall is only as strong as it is fortified by law enforcement personnel.