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.

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 …

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 …

I Just Don't Get It  —  This is discouraging. … There are several serious problems here.  — Allowing Bush to escalate the war is unwise.  (Note that Biden told Bush last month, after the election, that there was nothing the Democrats would do to stop him on the war.

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.

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.

Term Limits  —  Okay, goo-goos, explain this one to me: why are term limits for committee chairs a good thing?  Senators and Congressmen are busy people, and it can take a good 3-5 years to build up a lot of expertise in certain areas.  I'm not sure if it was caused by term limits or seniority …

Henry Waxman: The Watch Dog of the Taxpayers  —  Henry Waxman plans on holding a series of hearings on Iraq in Feb.. I think a few people in DC might be quivering at the thought.  He's a very tough customer who will use his subpoena power wisely and only when he has to.

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.

Cleric's story of abduction, torture  —  Letter opening salvo in CIA officers' trial  —  CAIRO — "This is how they kidnapped me from Italy ... and how they tortured and imprisoned me in Egypt."  —  So begins a 6,300-word, handwritten letter, composed in an Egyptian prison cell by radical Muslim cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr.