Top Items:
Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
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.
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Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
Opponents of Islamists Seize Somali Capital — Just hours after the Islamist forces abandoned Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, militias loyal to the transitional government seized the city today in a stunning reversal of fortunes. — According to residents, troops from the transitional government …
Discussion:
PrairiePundit
Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
Islamist Forces in Somalia Are in Retreat — Ethiopian-backed forces continued to beat back Islamist fighters in Somalia today, advancing to within 15 miles of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, as diplomatic pressure increased for the Ethiopians to pull out. — The African Union …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, jules crittenden, PrairiePundit and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Salad Duhul / Associated Press:Islamic forces abandon Somalia's capital
Discussion:
Secular Blasphemy
Bob Woodward / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Captain's Quarters, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Carpetbagger Report, Political Animal, The Next Hurrah, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, White House, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Democratic Daily, About U.S. Politics, First Draft, Intrepid Liberal Journal, Liberal Values, AMERICAblog, Democrats.com, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Hullabaloo, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Political Insider, Rising Hegemon, Alternate Brain and Roger Ailes
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Washington Post:
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.
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Marc Santora / New York Times:
Sectarian Ties Weaken Duty's Call for Iraq Forces — The car parked outside was almost certainly a tool of the Sunni insurgency. It was pocked with bullet holes and bore fake license plates. The trunk had cases of unused sniper bullets and a notice to a Shiite family telling them to abandon their home.
AlterNet.org:
A Ford/Nixon Conspiracy? [VIDEO] — Ford may have promised to pardon Nixon in order to become president... Through the stench of Ford hagiographies comes this story from the memory of Nation publisher Victor Navasky. — Back when Ford penned his autobiography, the Nation got a hold of an early copy …
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
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New York Times:
Gerald R. Ford — Gerald R. Ford was an accidental president, his tenure brief, his legacy limited. Yet he was the right man summoned at the right time to begin the necessary process of healing a country exhausted by war abroad and scandal at home. Elevated to the nation's top job …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Dennis Conrad / Associated Press:
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.
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Reid On Ford Funeral: I'm Busy — The death of a former President usually means that the leadership of all three branches of the government gather to mourn on behalf of the nation and to pay final respects to those once chosen to lead it. These events come rarely and allow for a moment of ceremonial unity in the political world.
brusselsjournal.com:
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 …
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Tony Blair / Foreign Affairs:
A Battle for Global Values — Summary: The war on terrorism is not just about security or military tactics. It is a battle of values, and one that can only be won by the triumph of tolerance and liberty. Afghanistan and Iraq have been the necessary starting points of this battle.
Jerusalem Post:
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 …
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Belarus Doubles Down — Belarus has decided to call Vladimir Putin's bluff on the standoff over energy prices and transit rights. Instead of acquiescing to Putin's demand for half of Belarus' revenues from its pipeline service to Europe and a doubling of their own energy prices …
Discussion:
Spiegel Online
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MSNBC:
John Edwards joins presidential race — Senator who ran in 2004 bidding for Democratic nomination, campaign says — Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards volunteers in New Orleans on Wednesday, a day before his scheduled presidential run announcement. — Slide show
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Washington Post:
Bush and Security Advisers to Meet Today on Iraq Strategy — President Bush's top national security advisers arrived here to hone a new Iraq strategy that administration officials said seems increasingly likely to include a surge of additional troops to try to help stabilize the country.
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Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings:
Not Waving But Drowning — From the Washington Post: … Polar bears generally hunt from pack ice. They depend on it completely. The arctic pack ice is receding. According to the Post article, … As the pack ice recedes, there is less of it for polar bears to hunt from …
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