Assessing Iraq  —  Michelle and I spent four days patrolling the environs around Forward Operating Base Justice in north and west Baghdad last week.  FOB Justice is near one functional neighborhood, Khadimiyah, one mostly recovered neighborhood, Al Salam, one dysfunctional neighborhood …

Saudis consider sending troops to Iraq  —  Government 'deeply skeptical' al-Maliki can make Bush surge plan work  —  Saudi Arabia believes the Iraqi government is not up to the challenge and has told the United States that it is prepared to move its own forces into Iraq should the violence …

Libby Quick Hits  —  Day One of the Libby trial has passed, and the sun did not stop in the sky - whew!  —  Let's go for some quick-ish hits.  The NY Times has a case overview from Monday that is absurdly misinformed.  Obviously, this trial is a bit awkward for them …

Iraqi Death Toll Exceeded 34,000 in 2006, U.N. Says  —  The United Nations reported Tuesday that more than 34,000 Iraqis were killed in violence last year, a figure that represents the first comprehensive annual count of civilian deaths and a vivid measure of the failure of the Iraqi government and American military to provide security.

Three Time [Loser] Winner  —  There just didn't seem to be any other way to explain why I'm not going to be present for the first two weeks of the Libby trial so I decided to resort to the truth.  —  As someone who has devoted years to building this blog around coverage of the CIA leak investigation …

THE LEFT AND THE WAR....If anti-war liberals were right about the war from the start, how come they don't get more respect?  Here's the nickel version of the answer from liberal hawks: It's because they don't deserve it.  Sure, the war has gone badly, but not for the reasons the doves warned of.

Obama Starts '08 Bid, Reshaping Democratic Field  —  Two years after arriving in Washington, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois made clear on Tuesday his intention to enter the Democratic presidential race, creating an exploratory committee while preparing to open a full-fledged campaign next month …

President Bush Defends Decision to Send Additional Troops to Iraq  —  JIM LEHRER: Mr. President, welcome.  —  PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Thank you, sir.  —  MR. LEHRER: How do you feel about the way the Iraqi government handled the hangings of Saddam Hussein, and now more recently, two of his top aides?

What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy  —  The human mind isn't very well equipped to make sense of a figure like $1.2 trillion.  We don't deal with a trillion of anything in our daily lives, and so when we come across such a big number, it is hard to distinguish it from any other big number.

As Trial Begins, Cheney's Ex-Aide Is Still a Puzzle  —  Paradox seems to define I. Lewis Libby Jr., who remains a bit mysterious even to close colleagues.  He is the White House policy enforcer who also wrote a literary novel; a buttoned-down Washington lawyer who likes knocking back tequila shots …

U.S. Official Apologizes for Guantanamo Remarks  —  A Pentagon official who criticized large U.S. law firms for representing terrorism suspects at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has apologized for his comments, saying that his discussion on a local radio program does not reflect his "core beliefs."

Stronger renminbi finds key backing  —  The Chinese ministry responsible for promoting exports has backed a further appreciation of the renminbi, removing one of the last remaining institutional lobbies in Beijing against a stronger currency.  —  A think-tank attached to the commerce ministry said that an …

Philippines says Abu Sayyaf leader killed in clash  —  MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines said on Wednesday that troops had killed the top planner of the country's most deadly Islamic militant group in a clash at a rebel jungle camp in the southwest.  —  Abu Sulaiman, one of the top five leaders …