Top Items:
Nico / Think Progress:
Pelosi: Congress Will Not Fund Escalation If Bush Does Not Justify It — This morning on CBS's Face the Nation, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that Congress may refuse to authorize funding for an escalation of U.S. forces to Iraq if President Bush cannot justify the strategy.
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CBS News:
WHAT DO YOU THINK? — (CBS/AP) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said newly empowered Democrats will not give President George W. Bush a blank check to wage war in Iraq, hinting they could deny funding if he seeks additional troops. — "If the president chooses to escalate the war …
Taylor Marsh:
Speaker Pelosi Lays Bush Out on Iraq — updated below— In her first Sunday morning interview, Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid it out plainly on Iraq. … It's nice to be home and have all my tech toys so that I could catch the Speaker's performance. Let's make sure this YouTube gets around.
New York Times:
The Imperial Presidency 2.0 — Observing President Bush in action lately, we have to wonder if he actually watched the election returns in November, or if he was just rerunning the 2002 vote on his TiVo. — That year, the White House used the fear of terrorism to scare American voters …
Hope Yen / Associated Press:
Pelosi Hints at Denying Bush Iraq Funds — Democrats now running Congress will not give President Bush a blank check to wage war in Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday, suggesting they could deny him the money should he call for additional troops. — Yet Pelosi's second-in-command …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Taylor Marsh / The Huffington Post:
Speaker Pelosi Lays Bush Out on Iraq
Speaker Pelosi Lays Bush Out on Iraq
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Miami Herald:
Suspicious truck stopped at the Port of Miami-Dade — Federal and county authorities have arrested as many as three Middle Eastern men at the Port of Miami-Dade after they tried to enter the facility Sunday morning without proper paperwork, officials said. — An FBI spokeswoman in Miami …
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Fox News:
PORT OF MIAMI ON HEIGHTENED ALERT — MIAMI — The Port of Miami on Sunday was in a heightened state of security after police discovered two men hiding in a cargo truck and a bomb squad was summoned to the scene, FOX News has learned. — The container truck was stopped near the cargo-area entrance …
Discussion:
SevenStripes.com
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Something up at the Port of Miami? — Florida Cracker has details. Fox's correspondent at the scene says the bomb squad is on the way. According to the Miami Herald, the driver is Iraqi and one of the men found hiding in the truck is Lebanese. — The Herald also says the Center …
Washington Post:
A 'Surge' in Iraq? — A troop increase that few in the Pentagon, Congress or the Iraqi government really want — PRESIDENT BUSH is widely expected to unveil a new strategy for Iraq this week that will include a substantial increase in U.S. troops. If he does, he will face a formidable task …
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Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Fred Hiatt hails McCain's courage and seriousness — Fred Hiatt's Washington Post Editorial today examines the plan for a "surge" in Iraq and ultimately takes no real position on it. He can bring himself only to say that "several questions give us pause."
Discussion:
The Impolitic
Associated Press:
Israel Denies Planning Iran Nuke Attack — LONDON (AP) — A British newspaper reported Sunday that Israel has drafted plans to strike as many as three targets in Iran with low-yield nuclear weapons, aiming to halt Tehran's uranium enrichment program. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report.
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Jules Crittenden / Boston Herald:
Two options, one choice: Lessons of history show way to right path — We've arrived at a crossroads in history. The choices are simple. — In a letter to President Bush on Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate President Harry Reid said they want out of Iraq. It's over.
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Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Sen. Lieberman Goes His Independent Way
Sen. Lieberman Goes His Independent Way
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, DownWithTyranny!, Wake up America, The Impolitic, jules crittenden and Don Surber
Robert Novak / Chicago Sun Times:
McCain backers fear they could lose new Florida governor's support — Publication of Rudy Giuliani's secret campaign plan has so embarrassed Florida's new Gov. Charles Crist that supporters of Sen. John McCain fear it might backfire against their campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Ben Shouse / Argus Leader:
Gore bars press from talk — Former VP will meet with students but not media — Reporters and TV news cameras will be banned from almost all of former Vice President Al Gore's appearance Jan. 23 in Sioux Falls. — Gore is the Boe Forum speaker at Augustana College and plans a talk called …
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Ryan Lizza / New York Times:
The Invasion of the Alpha Male Democrat — NANCY PELOSI'S carefully crafted introduction to the American people last week seemed to reinforce some stereotypes of the so-called mommy party. On the day she made history as the first woman to be elected speaker, she appeared on the House floor …
Independent:
Future of Iraq: The spoils of war — How the West will make a killing on Iraqi oil riches — Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.
Discussion:
The Agonist, The Impolitic, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Angry Bear, Seeing the Forest, AMERICAblog and Brilliant at Breakfast
Matthew D. LaPlante / Salt Lake Tribune:
Utahns break from Bush on Iraq — Reddest state no longer behind war's handling, split on 'surge' — President Bush has lost majority support on Iraq from residents of the reddest state in the nation. — A Salt Lake Tribune poll conducted last week shows Utah's support for Bush's handling …