U.S. and Iraqis Are Wrangling Over War Plans  —  Just days after President Bush unveiled a new war plan calling for more than 20,000 additional American troops in Iraq, the heart of the effort — a major push to secure the capital — faces some of its fiercest resistance from the very people …

Politicizing Prosecutors  —  The Bush administration has appointed an extreme political partisan as the new United States attorney for Arkansas.  Normally, the Senate would have vetted him, and quite possibly blocked his appointment.  But the White House took advantage of a little-noticed provision …

Saddam Hussein's Co-Defendants Hanged  —  Half Brother and Chief Judge Condemned With Deposed Iraqi Leader  —  The Iraqi government executed two of Saddam Hussein's associates early Monday morning for their participation in crimes against humanity, according to an Iraqi official.

Saddam half brother, ex-official hanged  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were both hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism.

Democrats Split on How to Oppose Troop Increase  —  The White House sought Sunday to head off building pressure in Congress to cut off or limit financing for sending more troops to Iraq.  —  But even as President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney made it clear that they would proceed …

Bloggers Take on Talk Radio Hosts  —  A San Francisco talk radio station pre-empted three hours of programming on Friday in response to a campaign by bloggers who have recorded extreme comments by several hosts and passed on digital copies to advertisers.  —  The lead blogger …

Cheney Defends Efforts to Obtain Financial Records  —  Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday defended efforts by the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency to obtain financial records of Americans suspected of terrorism or espionage, calling the practice a "perfectly legitimate activity" …

Will Saudis Ban the Letter 'X'?  —  The letter "X" soon may be banned in Saudi Arabia because it resembles the mother of all banned religious symbols in the oil kingdom: the cross.  —  The new development came with the issuing of another mind-bending fatwa, or religious edict …

Bill O'Reilly And NBC, Shouting to Make Themselves Seen?  —  A war of words between Bill O'Reilly and NBC has erupted into a shouting match that is overheated, mean-spirited and incredibly entertaining.  —  "NBC News has gone sharply to the left," the Fox News star said on his radio show in early January.

THE PROPHETIC VOICE  —  When Martin Luther King, Jr. brought his nonviolent campaign against segregation to Bull Connor's Birmingham, he laid siege to the bastion of Jim Crow.  In Birmingham between 1957 and 1962, black churches and homes had been subjected to horrific bombings.

Sandy Berger: What Did He Take and Why Did He Take It?  —  Some things cry out for explanation.  Like finding $90,000 in marked bills in a Congressman's freezer.  Or finding out that a blue-chip lawyer who held one of the most important jobs in the nation was willing to risk his career …

Sunday Talkshow Breakdown  —  listed in Iraq / Sunday Talkshow Breakdown  —  The Bushies and their enablers are trying to parlay their last scraps of political credibility by insisting it's either escalation in Iraq or handing over the region to Iran and Al Qaeda, and daring Democrats to prove otherwise.

Bush: 'We're Going Forward'  —  More Troops Called The Only Iraq Option  —  Faced with substantial opposition both in Congress and among the American public to their Iraq plans, President Bush and Vice President Cheney vowed yesterday to forge ahead with the deployment of more than 21,000 additional troops.

At Libby Trial, Power Players Face Uncomfortable Spotlight  —  When Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff goes on trial Tuesday on charges of lying about the disclosure of a CIA officer's identity, members of Washington's government and media elite will be answering some embarrassing questions as well.