memeorandum: AP employee found shot to death in Iraq (Associated Press)

3:58 AM ET, January 6, 2007

Top Items:

Congressional Leaders Call on President to Reject Flawed Iraq Troop Surge — Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi today sent the following letter to President Bush urging him to reject his reported plan to escalate the war in Iraq by increasing troop levels …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, DownWithTyranny!, The Carpetbagger Report, BobGeiger.com and AMERICAblog

Tom Curry / MSNBC:

McCain calls for substantial, sustained surge — Cites Lieberman's re-election as proof Americans don't want Iraq exit — WASHINGTON - The 2006 election has not changed Sen. John McCain's support for victory in Iraq one iota. — While some Democrats have interpreted their party's triumphs …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, TPMmuckraker, The Reaction, Taylor Marsh, Brilliant at Breakfast and jules crittenden

David Stout / New York Times:

Top Democrats Oppose More Troops in Iraq — As President Bush prepares to present his new strategy on Iraq to the American people, Democratic Congressional leaders said today they will fight any approach that calls for deploying more United States troops there.

Discussion: On Deadline and TalkLeft

Bill Brubaker / Washington Post:

Democrats Urge Bush Not to Increase Troops in Iraq — A day after Democrats took control of Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today urged President Bush not to prolong the 46-month-old Iraq war by increasing the number of U.S. troops in the country.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Nico / Think Progress:
CBS: Military Tells Bush It Has Only 9,000 Troops Available For 'Surge'

Discussion: Booman Tribune and KnoxViews

Fox News:
PELOSI ELECTED SPEAKER, FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD HOUSE

Discussion: unfutz

Chicago Dyke / CorrenteWire:
Live From AEI: Holy Joe and St. McCain Say "Surge!"

Discussion: The Agonist, The Sideshow and Eschaton

AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere:
Democrats Complete First Item On Their Contract With Al Qaeda - Surrender Iraq

Discussion: Don Surber and Wizbang

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Reid Takes Center Stage, but He's Hardly the Star of the Show

Discussion: The Impolitic, Power Line, NewsBusters.org and CNN Political Ticker

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:

ARE TODAY'S ELECTRONIC GADGETS WORTH THE MONEY? USA Today says that some are and some aren't: … I'm going to be attending the Consumer Electronics Show myself, as part of the Popular Mechanics contingent — and yes, it was awfully nice of the PM folks to invite me along.

Discussion: USA Today

Bryan / Hot Air:

The Lonely Senator, Update — Via InstaPundit, the intrepid reporter whose site insinuated that the photo of John Kerry sitting alone in a chow hall in Iraq was itself bogus, has now verified that the photo is real, but the absence of troops in it is misleading: … And he backs it up by talking to the reporters involved.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Captain's Quarters, Gateway Pundit, The Horse's Mouth, Little Green Footballs, The American Mind and The Democratic Daily

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

In which I annoy you once again with the asssertion that I'm a moderate. — I took this test — recommended by Andrew Sullivan — and scored a 21 on a political scale that ran from 0 (100% liberal) to 40 (100% conservative). Sullivan scored 26, by the way. — UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds takes the test and, like me, gets a 21.

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Reaction and Transterrestrial Musings

Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
TRUST TEST: Andrew Sullivan, InstaPundit, and Ann Althouse link …

Discussion: StephenBainbridge.com and Daily Pundit

Hindrocket / Power Line:

SURGE LITE? — There has been considerable speculation that President Bush's new strategy for Iraq, to be announced in a televised speech next week, will feature a "surge" of additional troops on a temporary basis. This Associated Press story suggests that the increment will be far fewer …

Discussion: Associated Press, Riehl World View, Daily Pundit and Middle Earth Journal

Oliver North / Human Events:
More Troops = More Targets

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, PoliPundit.com, Taylor Marsh, Reason Magazine and Stop The ACLU

Eason Jordan / iraqslogger.com:

The Jamil Hussein Fuss: All Sullied — Mistakes, Lessons Learned, Lingering Questions — The Associated Press and the AP's supporters surely are breathing a sigh of relief now that the Iraqi Interior Ministry has confirmed to the AP that elusive Iraqi Police Captain Jamil Hussein is genuine.

Discussion: Editor and Publisher, Confederate Yankee, BobGeiger.com, JunkYardBlog, Townhall.com Blog's …, Right Wing Nut House, Firedoglake, TAPPED, Bill's Bites, The Belmont Club and Daily Pundit

Joe Strupp / Editor and Publisher:
AP's Editor Criticizes Those Who Questioned Iraq Source

Discussion: AlterNet.org, jules crittenden, Bill's Bites, This Modern World, Flopping Aces, Little Green Footballs, Lean Left, Daily Kos, Shakespeare's Sister and All Spin Zone

Rasmussen Reports:

Pelosi: 43% Have Favorable Opinion of New House Speaker — Forty-three percent (43%) of Americans have a favorable opinion concerning the nation's new Speaker of the House. The first woman to serve in that role, Nancy Pelosi (D) earns favorable reviews from 45% of women and 41% of men.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The RBC, The World Wide Rant and SevenStripes.com

Hassan M. Fattah / New York Times:

Images of Hanging Make Hussein a Martyr to Many — In the week since Saddam Hussein was hanged in an execution steeped in sectarian overtones, his public image in the Arab world, formerly that of a convicted dictator, has undergone a resurgence of admiration and awe.

Newsweek:

The Next Top Spy — Negroponte's likely replacement makes civil libertarians nervous. — Hand Off: Bush nominates McConnell (right) to replace Negroponte as director of national intelligence — John Michael McConnell, the retired vice admiral slated to become America's new top spy, is known as a consummate team player.

Discussion: Daimnation! and Defense Tech

Timothy J. Burger / Time: Where Does Negroponte Leave Intelligence?

Pete Yost / Associated Press:

White House visitor records closed — WASHINGTON - The White House and the Secret Service quietly signed an agreement last spring in the midst of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal declaring that records identifying visitors to the White House are not open to the public.

Discussion: The Hill, The Carpetbagger Report, TPMmuckraker, The RBC, Donklephant, Prairie Weather and Shakespeare's Sister

Alexis Debat Reports / The Blotter:

American Passports Found on Bodies of Al Qaeda Fighters in Somalia — Alexis Debat Reports: — A senior official in the Somali government's new Ministry of the Interior told ABC News government forces had recovered "dozens of foreign passports," including several American passports …

Discussion: United States Central Command, The Fourth Rail, Associated Press, Times of London, The Jawa Report, Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air and PrairiePundit

Associated Press:

AP employee found shot to death in Iraq — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The body of an Associated Press employee was found shot in the back of the head Friday, six days after he was last seen by his family leaving for work. Ahmed Hadi Naji, 28, was the fourth AP staffer to die violently in the Iraq war …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Scarborough challenges O'Reilly to a debate — O'Reilly has been trashing NBC news lately because he's mad at Olbermann and doesn't want to say his name on the air. How does Billy get back at Keith? He says everybody hates George on NBC. I know, it's stupid.

Discussion: MSNBC