Top Items:
speaker.gov:
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:
Washington Post, Outside The Beltway, Wake up America, The Carpetbagger Report, BobGeiger.com, AMERICAblog and Wizbang
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President George W. Bush / Huffington Post:
DEM LETTER TO BUSH: "WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO REJECT ANY PLANS THAT CALL FOR OUR GETTING OUR TROOPS ANY DEEPER INTO IRAQ".... Dear Mr. President: — The start of the new Congress brings us opportunities to work together on the critical issues confronting our country.
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 …
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United States Central Command:
Jihadist Website: Al-Zawahiri Urges Somalis, Muslims To Fight Ethiopian Forces — A jihadist website is observed on 5 January to post several links to 5-minute and 30-second audio message by Al-Qa'ida's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri entitled "Rise up and Support Your Brothers in Somalia."
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.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Labels — A reader sends in a decade-old online quiz to determine whether you are a "conservative" or a "liberal." Actually, it's more like a political Kinsey scale, where 40 is the most conservative and 0 is the most liberal. I scored 26 - which makes me a moderate conservative, I guess.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, StephenBainbridge.com, Transterrestrial Musings, Mick LaSalle and The Moderate Voice
Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:TRUST TEST: Andrew Sullivan, InstaPundit, and Ann Althouse link …
Discussion:
Daily Pundit
New York Times:
Bush to Name a New General to Oversee Iraq — President Bush has decided to name Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top American military commander in Iraq, part of a broad revamping of the military team that will carry out the administration's new Iraq strategy, administration officials said Thursday.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, pacom.mil, Early Warning, ABCNEWS, Associated Press, No More Mister Nice Blog, Dick Polman's American Debate, The Carpetbagger Report, American Footprints, toohotfortnr, PoliPundit.com, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, TigerHawk, BLACKFIVE, Matthew Yglesias, TAPPED, The Heretik, Outside The Beltway, The Democratic Daily, Think Progress, Middle Earth Journal, Washington Post, Gun Toting Liberal ™, PrairiePundit, War and Piece, The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, On Deadline, Rising Hegemon, The News Blog and Decision '08
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Juan / Informed Comment:
The Adults take Charge — The Reality Based Community Strikes Back in Iraq — The professionals take charge. Bush is bringing in Ryan Crocker, a distinguished career foreign service officer, as the new US ambassador to Iraq. And Gen. David Petraeus will replace Gen. Casey as top ground commander in Iraq.
Bryan / Hot Air:
Barney Frank accuses Bush of genocide "ethnic cleansing" Major Update — There's no other way around it: When you accuse someone of perpetrating "ethnic cleansing" in any way, shape or form, you are accusing them of genocide. — Genocide. Let that word work its way around your mind for an moment.
Joe Strupp / Editor and Publisher:
AP's Editor Criticizes Those Who Questioned Iraq Source — NEW YORK Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll on Friday criticized those who questioned the existence of an AP Iraq source, who was proven this week to be real, saying the scrutiny has now endangered the man's life.
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Judd / Think Progress:
Lott: I May Oppose Troop Escalation — Yesterday on MSNBC, Trent Lott (R-MS), the second ranking Republican in the Senate, said that he may oppose troop escalation in Iraq. Watch it: — Lott's comments are particularly significant because, as the Minority Whip, he's responsible for bringing …
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Reid Takes Center Stage, but He's Hardly the Star of the Show — Harry Reid is often called the man from Searchlight, Nevada. Nobody has ever called him the man from Spotlight. — The soft-spoken Democrat became the most powerful figure in the United States Senate yesterday.
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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.
Nico / Think Progress:
CBS: Military Tells Bush It Has Only 9,000 Troops Available For 'Surge' — A State Department official leaked word this week that President Bush is considering sending "no more than 15,000 to 20,000 U.S. troops" to Iraq. "Instead of a surge, it is a bump," the official said.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Real Cities, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Eschaton, rubber hose and No Capital
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
The Hanging: Beyond Travesty — Of the 6 billion people on this Earth, not one killed more people than Saddam Hussein. And not just killed but tortured and mutilated — doing so often with his own hands and for pleasure. It is quite a distinction to be the preeminent monster on the planet.
Oliver North / Human Events:
More Troops = More Targets — For months, advisers to President George W. Bush have been trying to convince the commander in chief that more U.S. troops in Iraq will improve prospects for victory. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), both recently returned from Iraq …
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