Top Items:
Anthony Shadid / Washington Post:
With Iran Ascendant, U.S. Is Seen at Fault — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait rarely rebuffs its ally, the United States, partly out of gratitude for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. But in October it reneged on a pledge to send three military observers to an American-led naval exercise in the Gulf …
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Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Europe Resists U.S. Push to Curb Iran Ties — European governments are resisting Bush administration demands that they curtail support for exports to Iran and that they block transactions and freeze assets of some Iranian companies, officials on both sides say.
William Branigin / Washington Post:
Bush Warns Iran Against Action in Iraq — President Bush said today he has no intention of sending U.S. forces into Iran, but he vowed to "respond firmly" if Iran steps up a campaign that the United States charges is aimed at killing U.S. troops and derailing democracy in Iraq.
Slate:
Dispatches From the Scooter Libby Trial — I wanted to raise my hand and ask, "Your Honor, may I approach the bench?" — I was at the Scooter Libby trial to cover it, and all of a sudden, I found myself in the middle of the case. In his testimony today, former White House press secretary …
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Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
B-I-N-G-O — Here is my favorite bit from today:
B-I-N-G-O — Here is my favorite bit from today:
Discussion:
Gun Toting Liberal ™, Jesus' General, Taylor Marsh, Angry Bear, skippy the bush kangaroo and Needlenose
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Bush Directive Increases Sway on Regulation — President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.
Ali Ansari / Guardian:
Only the US hawks can save the Iranian president now — Ahmadinejad is failing to deliver for the poor and losing support, but he could yet survive because of the international threat — The honeymoon is over. Iran's controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has finally come unstuck.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, The Belmont Club, BrothersJudd Blog and Blue Crab Boulevard
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Jules Crittenden:
The Large Pistachio Nuts of Iranian Foreign Policy — The UK Guardian keeps trying to convince us to leave Iran alone. In this op-ed, which gets bogged down pretty quick, the point laboriously arrived at is that international pressure (Great Satan) will rescue Ahmadinejad from his public's annoyance …
Marc Santora / New York Times:
Missteps by Iraqi Forces in Battle Raise Questions — Iraqi forces were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by the ferocity of an obscure renegade militia in a weekend battle near the holy city of Najaf and needed far more help from American forces than previously disclosed, American and Iraqi officials said Monday.
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Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:
We're very proud, bomber's family declares — The mother of Muhammad Faisal Saksak, the 21-year-old suicide bomber who carried out Monday's attack in Eilat, said she was aware of her son's plan to blow himself up and that she had wished him "good luck." — Dozens of Palestinians …
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Ibrahim Barzak / Associated Press:
Cease-fire starts taking hold in Gaza — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A cease-fire started taking hold in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, after five days of intense Hamas- Fatah fighting that left 34 people dead. — However, previous truce deals struck in recent weeks of factional clashes quickly collapsed …
Richard Marosi / Los Angeles Times:
Unfilled tunnels a weak link at border — Key points are plugged in U.S. and Mexico, but smugglers may still try to reuse the passages — SAN DIEGO — Seven of the largest tunnels discovered under the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years have yet to be filled in, authorities said …
Gregg Easterbrook / Slate:
What the President Got Right — GIVE BUSH CREDIT FOR HIS ENERGY PROPOSAL. — It "fell far short" (Washington Post editorial) and offers only "marginal" gains (New York Times editorial) and is "nonsense" (Charles Krauthammer) and "isn't much" (Thomas Friedman).
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Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:
A Global Balancing Act — Dani Rodrik, a trade economist at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, received his introduction to the idiosyncrasies of globalization while growing up in Turkey. — His father made ballpoint pens, protected by high tariffs from less expensive imports.
Discussion:
Beat the Press
NPR:
Full Transcript: NPR Interview with President Bush — · The following is a full transcript of NPR's interview with President George W. Bush, conducted by Juan Williams on Monday, Jan. 29, 2007. — JUAN WILLIAMS: Mr. President, we can't say thank you enough for giving NPR this time, so thank you.
Jack Langer / Human Events:
All the Old Dudes — "A man could make a fortune selling Geritol to these people." — Capitalist stooge that I am, that was my first reaction upon reaching the Washington Mall last Saturday to observe tens of thousands of demonstrators rally against the war in Iraq.