Troops Sent in Surge to Have Limited Role, Bush Aide Says  —  President Bush will announce tonight that the additional American troops he plans to send to Baghdad will act only in support of Iraqi forces, and that they are being sent only because the Iraqi government has promised a "fundamental" …

Somalia: Al Qaeda militant killed … MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A senior al Qaeda suspect wanted for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa has been killed, a Somali official said Wednesday as witnesses said U.S forces launched a third day of airstrikes.  —  Also Wednesday …

STEALTH RUDY BUTTONS LIP ON TROOP SURGE  —  Rudy Giuliani, a front-runner in several recent polls for the 2008 GOP nomination, has been mum about President Bush's expected Iraq troop-surge proposal - an issue that could be big in the presidential sweepstakes.

Wage Increase Could Hinge on Tax Cuts  —  As part of their 100-hour legislative blitz, House Democrats are expected to vote today to increase the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, to $7.25 an hour, in a move that economists say will raise pay for 13 million workers.

"I'm not afraid, I've lost everything in Iraq:" An Interview with a Fallujan Civil Servant  —  An Interview with a Fallujan Civil Servant  —  Note: Please consider this interview a companion piece to my second dispatch for the Examiner.  Taken together, they provide a good primer …

Gates Cleans House  —  New Pentagon chief is expected to oust the U.S. general involved in the Somalia strikes.  —  Ten Hut: Robert Gates talks with troops on a December visit to Baghdad  —  Airstrikes this week on alleged Al Qaeda figures in Somalia may prove to be one of the last …

Fox News Anchor Calls Ted Kennedy A 'Hostile Enemy Right Here On The Home Front'  —  This morning on Fox News, anchor Gretchen Carlson called Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) a "hostile enemy" of the United States because he has demanded that Congress vote on whether to approve funding for escalation in Iraq.

Leak Probes Stymied, FBI Memos Show  —  A lack of cooperation from one or more intelligence agencies led the FBI to abandon several recent criminal investigations into leaks of classified information to the press, records obtained by The New York Sun indicate.

A Second Letter to Mr. Klein  —  Joe Klein hasn't responded to my letter.  But he did continue the conversation about his challenge in an exchange with Wonkette. … Klein is responding to Wonkette's criticism, "It does somehow hearten me that the American public is less concerned with how a position "looks" than pundits are."

Bush to seek $6.8 bln for new Iraq strategy  —  President George W. Bush's plan for Iraq includes a $6.8 billion budget request to pay for a 20,000 troop increase as well as jobs and reconstruction programs aimed at stabilizing the country, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

Entitled Selfishness  —  Boomer Generation Is in a State of Denial  —  As someone born in late 1945, I say this to the 76 million or so subsequent baby boomers and particularly to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, our generation's leading politicians: Shame on us.

Little Public Confidence in Bush on Iraq  —  Only one in four believe he has a clear plan for dealing with the situation there  —  PRINCETON, NJ — As President George W. Bush prepares to address the nation Wednesday evening to unveil his new policy on Iraq, he is doing so with little public confidence …

Soldier diagnosed with mental problems  —  FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - An Army private charged with the slaughter of an Iraqi family was diagnosed as a homicidal threat by a military mental health team three months before the attack.  —  Pfc. Steven D. Green was found to have "homicidal ideations" …

Bombings kill 6, hurt 27 in Philippines  —  MANILA, Philippines - Three bombs within hours of each other rocked the southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding 27 others, officials said, amid warnings that Muslim militants may try to disrupt this weekend's Asian regional summits.

Better armor lacking for new troops in Iraq  —  WASHINGTON // The thousands of troops that President Bush is expected to order to Iraq will join the fight largely without the protection of the latest armored vehicles that withstand bomb blasts far better than the Humvees in wide use, military officers said.