Top Items:
Jules Crittenden:
Battlefield Shifts Westward — The war with extremist Islam has just entered a new phase. Times of London: Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan and Iraq have issued orders for British cells to conduct a "low-tech" campaign of abductions and beheadings. … In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, I was puzzled by the lack of follow-on.
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Little Green Footballs:
UC Irvine: MSU Calls for Israel to Be Wiped Out
UC Irvine: MSU Calls for Israel to Be Wiped Out
Discussion:
Riehl World View
David Leppard / Times of London:
Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings
Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Neptunus Lex, Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, Don Surber and Telegraph
Larisa Alexandrovna / Larisa Alexandrovna's At Largely:
Terra Propaganda in London
Terra Propaganda in London
Discussion:
The American Street
New York Times:
Iraqis Fault Delayed U.S. Plan in Attack — A growing number of Iraqis blamed the United States on Sunday for creating conditions that led to the worst single suicide bombing in the war, which devastated a Shiite market in Baghdad the day before. They argued that slowness in completing …
Discussion:
True Blue Liberal
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Associated Press:
U.S. general: Insurgent gunners shot down helicopters — BAGHDAD, Iraq - The four U.S. helicopters that have crashed in Iraq since Jan. 20 were apparently shot down, the chief American military spokesman said Sunday — the first time the U.S. command has publicly acknowledged that the aircraft were lost to enemy fire.
Stuart Elliott / New York Times:
Super Bowl Ads of Cartoonish Violence, Perhaps Reflecting Toll of War — No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Super Bowl XLI; Update: Commercials galore; Update: NYT: Violent ads = Iraq metaphor — Two hours until kickoff and the pre-game show's already two and a half hours old. Consider this your official HA SBXLI open thread, although its real purpose is to act as a repository for commercials I'll be posting throughout the game.
Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
SURGING ON — Omar, writing from Baghdad, January 28th: … Accurate or not, that may explain a certain sense of urgency among factions in Baghdad this weekend: … Omar's brother Mohammed today: … As for U.S. forces, one Brigade Combat Team (BCT) involved in "the surge" has been in place since late January:
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Tom Lasseter / Real Cities:
Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Army 1st Lt. Antonio Hardy took a slow look around the east Baghdad neighborhood that he and his men were patrolling. He grimaced at the sound of gunshots in the distance. A machine gunner on top of a Humvee scanned the rooftops for snipers.
Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:
More violence in Baghdad as the city braces for the security plan.
More violence in Baghdad as the city braces for the security plan.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Sarah Baxter / Times of London:
Iranian nuclear scientist 'assassinated by Mossad' — A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran. — An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour …
Discussion:
Flopping Aces, Redstate, Secular Blasphemy, The Political Pit Bull, Yourish.com, Kesher Talk and Little Green Footballs
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Telegraph:
Iceland fears bears that go with the floe — The oceans may be warming and air temperatures rising, but in recent days Iceland has bucked the global climate trend. — Thick pack ice, the like of which has not been seen for decades, stretched into the western fjords as temperatures plummeted and a bitter wind blew in from -Greenland.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
A Fourth Branch? — We have all discussed the unprecedented power of Dick Cheney in this administration ad nauseum, but this post from David Kurtz at TPM introduced a whole new element I hadn't been aware of. — I assumed that Cheney believed the power of the Vice President (such as it is) derived from the executive branch.
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Faiz / Think Progress:
McCain Flip-Flops In 47 Seconds: Claims Success Is Not Realistic In 'A Few Months,' Then Says It Is — On ABC's This Week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said it is unrealistic to expect the escalation strategy to change the situation in Iraq in "a few months":
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Kristol:"On the whole over the last two weeks, some of the news for Iraq is slightly optimistic." — Kristol just can't help himself... I really can't get myself to write much about this, but the more death and destruction that goes on in Iraq, Kristol and his ilk will blow it off...Watch and recoil...
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Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
The Glenn and Helen Show: Michael Yon from Camp Victory — Michael Yon is back in Iraq, where he's been for over a month now. We caught up to him via satellite phone this afternoon and got his views on the surge (it will be "unlike anything we've seen before"), the status of Iraqi security forces …
Pundit Review Radio / BLACKFIVE:
A BIGGER DUMBASS THAN ARKIN — Note to former Captain Kevin O'Meara over at the Kossack's place: We don't fight for money, Mr. Mensa Candidate. Or at least those of us not on the extreme far left don't. — Kevin, our military fights for your right to be an a**hole.
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Robert Schwaneberg / New Jersey Online:
When life without parole is worse than death — Analysis finds more than 100 murderers who might one day go free would face certainty of dying in prison — When a state commission recommended last month that New Jersey abolish the death penalty in favor of life imprisonment without parole …
Discussion:
Sentencing Law and Policy
Bnneditor / Blogger News Network:
The Interesting Opinions of Amanda Marcotte — Or at least a few of them. Since Ms. Marcotte's accession to the position of chief blogger for the John Edwards presidential campaign, speculation has been rife about the often caustic opinions she has expressed, and whether or not Senator Edwards …
Mark Steyn / Associated Press:
What's so hot about fickle science? — From the "Environmental News Network": "Science Is Solid on Climate Change, Congress Told." "The science is solid," says Louise Frechette, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations. — "The science is solid," says Sen. Dianne Feinstein.