Top Items:
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
Eschaton, Booman Tribune, Flopping Aces, AMERICAblog, Unqualified Offerings and Decision '08
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CNN:
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 …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Maliki: Attack All Militias — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced today that his government will take immediate action against sectarian militias of all stripes in Baghdad. His announcement comes as the Bush administration appears ready to shift more troops to the capital …
Associated Press:
Iraqi Premier Announces Baghdad Security Plan — BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday that Iraqi forces would launch a new effort — with U.S. troops in a supporting role — to wrest control of Baghdad's neighborhoods from militias and other sectarian killers.
Discussion:
QandO, Matthew Yglesias, Secular Blasphemy, State of the Day, Political Animal and Dependable Renegade
New York Times:
Bush Facing Deep Divide Over More Troops for Iraq — The new Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House warned President Bush on Friday against sending additional troops to Iraq, setting the stage for what could become a major confrontation over a new war strategy.
Discussion:
Balkinization
Times of London:
Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran — Uzi Mahnaimi New York and Sarah Baxter Washington — ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. — Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow …
Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:
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.
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Chevy Chase / New York Times:
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.
Ralph Peters / New York Post:
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.
William Saletan / Slate:
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.
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Associated Press:
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 …
Dan / Riehl World View:
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?
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
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.
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Elizabeth Nash / Independent:
Spanish bishops fear rebirth of Islamic kingdom — Spain's bishops are alarmed by ambitious plans to recreate the city of Cordoba - once the heart of the ancient Islamic kingdom of al-Andalus - as a pilgrimage site for Muslims throughout Europe. — Plans include the construction …
Discussion:
The Corner
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Eason On Down — Many great bloggers have already written definitive posts about the rightosphere's Jamail Hussein witch hunt so I won't go into the particulars. It's an ugly story all around and I'm hoping that it shows, once and for all, the difference between the "angry left" …
Josh White / Washington Post:
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 …
Glenn Greenwald / The American Conservative:
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.
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, Crooks and Liars, The Impolitic, Middle Earth Journal and Liberty Street