NAMES & FACES  —  It all started with a simple video rental.  Who knows where it will end?  —  Potomac Video store clerk Charles Williamson, 28, posted a message on his blog, Freelance Genius, Dec. 23 that described how he set up a movie rental account for MSNBC host Tucker Carlson at the MacArthur Boulevard store the day before.

US diluting Iraq surge, general says  —  The military mastermind of President George W Bush's new troop "surge" strategy for Iraq has hit out at signs that the Pentagon is watering down the proposal for political reasons.  —  "You cannot try and do this piecemeal.

Chuck Hagel Smacks Lieberman: Questions his competency  —  Chuck Hagel plastered Holy Joe on Meet the Press this morning and it's about time somebody called him on his garbage.  Lieberman got on his soapbox and tried to tell us that Bush's implementation of the McCain Doctrine is our only hope …

Terror: 'We're Going to Get Hit'  —  Intel director john Negroponte gave Congress a sobering assessment last week of the continued threats from groups like Al Qaeda and Hizbullah.  But even gloomier comments came from Henry Crumpton, the outgoing State Department terror coordinator.

Picking Up the Pieces  —  It was surreal how disconnected President Bush was the other night, both from Iraq's horrifying reality and America's anguish over this unnecessary, mismanaged and now unwinnable war.  Indeed, most Americans seem far ahead of the president.

Mahdi Army lowers its profile, anticipating arrival of U.S. troops  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Mahdi Army militia members have stopped wearing their black uniforms, hidden their weapons and abandoned their checkpoints in an apparent effort to lower their profile in Baghdad in advance of the arrival of U.S. reinforcements.

"SURGE" MATH  —  Fred Kagan, writing on 12/04/06: … Fred Kagan (w/ Keane) writing on 12/27/06: … Just around 3 weeks between the two articles, and Kagan goes from 80,000 (or 50,000*, see below) to 30,000 as to what's needed to secure Baghdad (as Frank Rich quips in today's NYT, "whatever")!

Contradicting Bush, Cheney Claims 'We Have In Fact Made Enormous Progress' In Iraq  —  For years, President Bush and Vice President Cheney have asserted that "absolutely, we're winning" in Iraq.  Bush put an end to such happy talk last Wednesday night, omitting suggestions that we're "winning" or making "progress," and instead stating:

Why Europe Abandoned Israel  —  Why is Israel viewed so differently in Europe than in the United States?  To argue as the title of this article does, that Europe has abandoned Israel, is to suggest that it was once in its corner.  And in fact, this is true.

Obama's charm lost on America's black activists  —  HE is a media darling, a paparazzi target and a source of inspiration for millions of Democrats who dream of retaking the White House in 2008.  But Senator Barack Obama, the charismatic African-American who is shaking up the presidential primary race …