Iraqis to lead assault to take back Baghdad … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday that Iraq's armed forces are set for an assault on Baghdad to take out militias and rogue security forces.  —  Aided by multinational troops, the Iraqi forces …

HALF THE STORY: Don Surber notes, quoting a correspondent: … Well, that's half the numbers.  Filling in the other half (which, to Surber's credit, is linked from his post), we see that Bush is at 45% job approval and 54% disapproval, while Pelosi is at 43% favorable and 39% unfavorable.

Mr. Ford Gets the Last Laugh  —  IN recent days, I've been bombarded by requests to comment on my relationship with President Gerald Ford.  Until now, I've tried to say nothing — any remarks from me during the Ford family's private time of grief would have been inappropriate.

Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch … WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.  —  The letters were sent a few days after Christmas …

Cloned Bull  —  THE BUM RAP ON CLONED FOOD.  —  Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  People have puzzled over that question for at least 2,000 years.  In the eternal cycle of natural reproduction, they saw no answer.  But the cycle turns out not to be eternal.

Bush Plan for Iraq Requests More Troops and More Jobs  —  President Bush's new Iraq strategy calls for a rapid influx of forces that could add as many as 20,000 American combat troops to Baghdad, supplemented with a jobs program costing as much as $1 billion intended to employ Iraqis …

House Tightens Disclosure Rules for Pet Projects  —  The House voted on Friday to pull the shadowy tradition of Congressional earmarking into the daylight, requiring lawmakers to attach their names to the pet items they slip into spending or tax bills and certify that they have no financial interest in the provisions.

EYEING IRAN  —  WHY W'S TAPPING ADMIRAL TO HEAD CENTRAL COMMAND  —  WORD that Adm. William Fallon will move laterally from our Pacific Command to take charge of Central Command - responsible for the Middle East - while two ground wars rage in the region baffled the media.

Troop surge can't be brief, backers insist  —  They want 18 months at minimum.  Democrats, and some Republicans, resist a hard line.  —  WASHINGTON — The leading advocates of an increase in U.S. forces in Iraq warned President Bush on Friday that any buildup lasting less than 18 months was doomed to fail …

A Heckuva Claim  —  PRESIDENT BUSH wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday that "it is also a fact that our tax cuts have fueled robust economic growth and record revenues."  The claim about fueling record revenue is flat wrong, and it is shocking that the president should persist in making such errors.

Death in Haditha  —  Eyewitness Accounts in Report Indicate Marines Gunned Down Unarmed Iraqis in the Aftermath of a Roadside Bombing in 2005  —  U.S. Marines gunned down five unarmed Iraqis who stumbled onto the scene of a 2005 roadside bombing in Haditha, Iraq, according to eyewitness accounts …

AP's Carrol Is Wrong On Jamil Hussein  —  Update: Rick Moran weighs in here.  But there's a point in this I overlooked.  Jamil Hussein's name was on a list of several AP's sources under scrutiny.  Is AP's Carroll suggesting bloggers put all of them in danger, too?

Selective Amnesia  —  The pundits who sold the Iraq War change their tune and bury their records.  —  When political leaders make drastic mistakes, accountability is delivered in the form of elections.  That occurred in November when voters removed the party principally responsible for the war in Iraq.

E&P Survey Finds That, At Critical Point, Editorials Offer Little Commentary on Troop Escalation in Iraq  —  NEW YORK As a critical turning point in America's role in the nearly four-year-old Iraq war nears, the editorial pages of the largest U.S. newspapers have been surprisingly - even …

Late Nite FDL: Spocko vs. The Rat  —  Evenin', fellow firedogs!  Tonight I'm going to attempt to get us all up to speed about a situation that I suspect we're going to be hearing a lot about in the near future.  This story was brought to my attention by ¡El Gato Negro!.  —  Where to begin?