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 …

Saddam aides hanged, anger at beheading "mishap"  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution.

HILL JABS AT JOHN  —  TAKES HER FIRST SHOT VS. AN '08 PREZ FOE  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night ripped into 2008 White House contender John Edwards - her first direct assault on any of her potential Democratic presidential rivals.  —  Clinton's surprising broadside came just hours after Edwards …

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 …

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 …

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" …

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.

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 …

The "All Or Nothing" Myth  —  As follow-up to the post below, I want to play around with the idea that the medical industrial-complex will attack any serious health reform with total ferocity, and so would-be reformers should simply try and legislate them out of existence, knowing that that's the path of maximal efficiency.

New Law Could Subject Civilians to Military Trial  —  Provision Aimed at Contractors, but Some Fear It Will Sweep Up Other Workers  —  Private contractors and other civilians serving with U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan could be subject for the first time to military courts-martial under …

Economists upgrade US outlook after surprisingly strong data  —  Economists are hastily upgrading their forecasts for the US economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating.

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.