Top Items:
Bryan / Hot Air:
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 …
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Michelle Malkin:
Back from Baghdad — My HotAir.com colleague Bryan Preston and I are back from Iraq. Thanks to Allah and Ian for holding down the fort at HA and thanks much to guest-bloggers Mary Katharine Ham, See-Dubya, and the Big Lizards for filling in here during my absence. Be sure to bookmark their blogs.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Scott Shane / New York Times:
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 …
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Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
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 …
Josh White / Washington Post:
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."
Discussion:
TPMCafe blogs
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Washington Post:
An Apology to Detainees' Attorneys — During a radio interview last week, I brought up the topic of pro bono work and habeas corpus representation of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Regrettably, my comments left the impression that I question the integrity of those engaged in the zealous defense of detainees in Guantanamo.
MSNBC:
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 …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Attytood, jules crittenden, Kesher Talk, PoliBlog (TM), Secular Blasphemy and New York Times
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Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
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.
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Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:Bombings Kill 60 at University In Baghdad
Discussion:
The Reaction
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
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 …
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
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 …
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Online NewsHour:
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?
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Caucus, The Democratic Daily, Hullabaloo and No More Mister Nice Blog
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
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.
Anne C. Mulkern / Denver Post:
Tancredo officially eyeing bid — Washington - Colorado's Tom Tancredo took his first official step Tuesday toward running for president. — The Republican congressman from Littleton - known for his hard-line stance on immigration - announced his plan to file paperwork for a presidential exploratory committee.
Discussion:
On Deadline
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Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Frist looking at governor run in 2010 — Former Majority Leader Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is seriously considering a gubernatorial run in Tennessee in 2010, possibly setting up a White House bid further down the road. — Sources in Washington and Tennessee say Frist, who will turn 55 next month …
Discussion:
The Influence Peddler
Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
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.
Reuters:
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 …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Liang Youchang / Xinhua News Agency:
Iran shoots down U.S. spy drone amid growing military pressure — TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) — Iranian troops have shot down a U.S. pilotless spy plane recently, an Iranian lawmaker announced on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic was facing increasing military pressure from its arch rival — the United States.
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