memeorandum: MTP Transcript for Dec. 31 (MSNBC)

Sahra Abdi / Reuters:

Somali Islamists flee stronghold — KISMAYU, Somalia (Reuters) - Defeated Somali Islamists fled their last stronghold and headed toward the Kenyan border on Monday in what looked like the end of nearly two weeks of war with the Ethiopian-backed government. — Several thousand Islamist troops …

Nasteex Dahir Farah / Associated Press:

Somali troops capture Islamic stronghold — KISMAYO, Somalia - Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters — many of them Arabs and South Asians — fled the town.

Discussion: Power Line

Nasteex Dahir Farah / Associated Press:

Islamists quit last bastion in Somalia — KISMAYU, Somalia - Islamist fighters abandoned the last major town they held early today and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border while government forces approached slowly because of land mines, residents and a government spokesman said.

Discussion: PrairiePundit

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
Islamists Abandon Final Stronghold in Somalia

Discussion: Hot Air

Associated Press:
SOMALI TROOPS CLOSE IN ON 3 WANTED FOR U.S. EMBASSY BOMBINGS

Discussion: Op For

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support

Discussion: PrairiePundit, Riehl World View, Hot Air and Times of London

New York Times:

Rush to Hang Hussein Was Questioned — BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 — With his plain pine coffin strapped into an American military helicopter for a predawn journey across the desert, Saddam Hussein, the executed dictator who built a legend with his defiance of America, completed a turbulent passage into history on Sunday.

Discussion: Unclaimed Territory, Blinq, Don Surber, On Deadline, Empire Burlesque, AMERICAblog, Right Voices, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Prairie Weather and Unqualified Offerings

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

For Sunnis, Dictator's Degrading End Signals Ominous Dawn for the New Iraq — BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 — For Sunni Arabs here, the ugly reality of the new Iraq seemed to crystallize in a two-minute segment of Saddam Hussein's hanging, filmed surreptitiously on a cellphone.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Informed Comment and Rook's Rant

Reuters:

Saddam Hanged but No Let - Up in Iraq Violence — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday for crimes against humanity after Iraq's prime minister rushed through an execution few believed would help stem the sectarian violence tearing the country apart.

Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:

GOP Lawmakers Divided About 'Surge' in Troops — Republican lawmakers appear uneasy about — and in some cases outright dismissive of — the idea of sending many more troops to Iraq, as President Bush contemplates such a "surge" as part of his new strategy for stabilizing the country.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Booman Tribune, Macsmind, AMERICAblog and Think Progress

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

A 'Surge' Faces Trouble In the Senate — Sen. John McCain, leading a blue-ribbon congressional delegation to Baghdad before Christmas, collected evidence that a "surge" of more U.S. troops is needed in Iraq. But not all his colleagues who accompanied him were convinced.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and skippy the bush kangaroo

Gregory / The Belgravia Dispatch:

"SURGE" QUERY — The Keane/Kagan duo write in the Weekly Standard that a meaningful "surge" has to consist of at least 30,000 men and for at least 18 months. OK, nothing surprising there, this has been a Fred Kagan type outlook for many moons now. What caught my eye, however, was this snippet at the concluding graf:

Discussion: Larisa Alexandrovna's …

David Millward / Telegraph:

US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers — Britons flying to America could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington. — By using a credit card to book a flight, passengers face having …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, PoliPundit.com and The Daily Brief

MSNBC:

MTP Transcript for Dec. 31 — MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: This is the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, where the remains of the 38th president of the United States lie in state. What is Gerald Ford's legacy? What is the story behind the story of his pardon of Richard Nixon?

Discussion: Political Animal and SOTUblog

Nancy Trejos / Washington Post:

U.S. Toll In Iraq Reaches 3,000 — The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 reached 3,000 on Sunday, a symbolic milestone at a time when the Bush administration is rethinking its strategy for the increasingly violent conflict.

Discussion: The Heretik, The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press, Riehl World View and Rox Populi

Nancy Benac / Associated Press:

AP poll: Americans optimistic for 2007 — WASHINGTON - The news from Iraq and other national headlines may be grim, but in Greenville, N.C., John Given has a new baby and his first home, and life is good. — So, too, for Sandra Trowbridge in tiny Magnet Cove, Ark. The situation in Iraq makes …

Darlene Superville / Associated Press: Poll: Americans see gloom, doom in 2007

Ezra Klein:

Reds Everywhere — Ankush points me towards an article in the Business section of The New York Times arguing for single-payer health care. That's not exactly a common pairing, so seeing such an unexpected marriage of section and socialism does my heart good.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Anna Bernasek / New York Times:
Health Care Problem? Check the American Psyche

Discussion: Democrats.com

Atrios / Eschaton:
Universal — Krugman reminds us of just how stupid and expensive our health care system.

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:

The State of the Jihad — A look at the state of the major theaters, and some under the radar, in the Long War — Waziristan. — The year of 2006 has seen some interesting developments in the fight against al-Qaeda and its allies across the globe. While the war against al-Qaeda …

Discussion: The Belmont Club, PrairiePundit and INDCJournal

jules crittenden:

Past, Future, Whatever — The Boston Glob's odious James Carroll, surrender enthusiast extraordinaire and Kumbayah choir leader, sheds light on the world view that informs his positions: — "The future and the past exist only in your mind." — Apparently he's never attended family day at a Balkan or a Middle Eastern mass grave.