Give us guns - and troops can go, says Iraqi leader  —  Listen to the interview with Nouri al-Maliki  —  America's refusal to give Baghdad's security forces sufficient guns and equipment has cost a great number of lives, the Iraqi Prime Minister said yesterday.

Court to Oversee U.S. Wiretapping in Terror Cases  —  The Bush administration, in a surprise reversal, said on Wednesday that it had agreed to give a secret court jurisdiction over the National Security Agency's wiretapping program and would end its practice of eavesdropping without warrants on Americans suspected of ties to terrorists.

Bush Faces Deepening War Opposition, Demand for Congress to Act  —  Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush failed to rally public support with his nationally televised speech announcing plans to send more soldiers to Iraq, as most Americans say they want Congress to find a way to stop the troop increase.

Congressional Procession of Iraq Proposals Likely to Lead Nowhere  —  "You cannot run a war by committee," Vice President Cheney said over the weekend.  —  Oh?  Just watch them.  —  Lawmakers were introducing Iraq legislation at a mad pace yesterday, at one point in the afternoon scheduling news conferences in half-hour intervals.

Transcript: DoJ Officials Discuss NSA, FISA  —  Earlier today, two senior Justice Department officials participated in a phone briefing with reporters about the president's wiretapping program.  We've posted the transcript for you below the fold, as it's the most detailed discussion …

O'Reilly: Abducted child "liked ... his circumstances," had "a lot more fun" than usual  —  On the January 15 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly said of Shawn Hornbeck — who was abducted at the age of 11, held for four years, and recently found in Missouri — that …

Obama's Past Offers Ammo for Critics  —  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may have a lot of explaining to do.  —  He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive.  He supported allowing retired police officers to carry concealed weapons …

Area Readers Get the Joke  —  The Onion, the Gen-X satiric newspaper, is coming to Washington and will partner with The Washington Post, which will print the paper and sell local ads.  —  The Onion, which also maintains a Web site, will be distributed free in news boxes and by hawkers in Washington beginning the first week in April.

NEIL SHER: CONSIDER THE SOURCE  —  Last month I noted the accusation by Neil Sher that Jimmy Carter had once lobbied the Justice Department on behalf of a former SS concentration camp guard who had been deported.  Today Lucianne is featuring the Israel National News story by Ezra HaLevi …

Mao was cruel - but also laid the ground for today's China  —  The crimes of communist China's founder shouldn't blind us to achievements which paved the way for its current modernisation  —  Nobody wants to be an apologist for Mao.  Even the Communist party, five years after his death …

Arab World Outraged Over Hangings in Iraq  —  Beirut's daily an-Nahar newspaper ran a caricature Tuesday of the Iraqi flag adorned with three nooses.  At the center of the red, white and black banner, the outline of the coiled ropes appears similar to the word "Allah" in Arabic script.

Newspaper Columnist Art Buchwald Dies at 81  —  Art Buchwald, 81, the newspaper humor columnist for more than a half-century who found new comic material in the issues that come up at the end of life, died of kidney failure last night at his son's home in Washington, his family announced today.

Van Hollen and Dean bury hatchet  —  Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the new chief election strategist for the House Democrats, welcomed Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean to his office Tuesday for a "jovial" meeting in which the two pledged to work together during the 2008 election cycle.