Iraq Vote Could Resonate In 2008  —  Resolution Against Adding Troops Is Set for a Showdown  —  When Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) saw reporters approaching him last week, he took off in a sprint, determined to say as little as possible about a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush's …

Tapes of Libby testimony to be released  —  WASHINGTON - Audio recordings of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's secret grand jury testimony will be released publicly after they are presented at his trial, the judge at Libby's trial ruled Monday.

Nader leaves '08 door open, slams Hillary  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader on Sunday left the door open for another possible White House bid in 2008 and criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton as "a panderer and a flatterer."

Bush Budget Projects A Surplus by 2012  —  The budget that President Bush will submit to Congress today shows the federal deficit falling in each of the next four years and would produce a $61 billion surplus in 2012, administration officials said.  But to get there, Bush is counting …

Surge  —  It has [apparently]. begun, and the rash of terrorist attacks over the past week, including the suicide truck bombing Saturday of a Baghdad marketplace frequented by both Sunni and Shia makes it appear, at least on the surface, that the terrorists were either attempting …

Iran: Giant achievements coming soon  —  Ahmadinejad: On February 11, Islamic Republic's nuclear rights 'will be established'  —  "Giant achievements" by Iran will be unveiled by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the coming days, the Iranian Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Edwards: raise taxes for healthcare  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards on Sunday said that he would raise taxes, chiefly on the wealthy, to pay for expanded healthcare coverage under a plan costing $90 billion to $120 billion a year to be unveiled on Monday.

20 face lash for dancing in Saudi Arabia  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A Saudi Arabian judge sentenced 20 foreigners to receive lashes and spend several months in prison after convicting them of attending a party where alcohol was served and men and women danced, a newspaper reported Sunday.

New Fox Show: Obama Is Not The First 'Clean' African-American Since Oprah 'Does Douche'  —  Fox News is prepping a new late-night talk show called "Red Eye" hosted by Greg Gutfeld, the former editor of UK Maxim (and Huffington Post blogger) who previously led a web-based chat show for FoxNews.com.

Officers With PhDs Advising War Effort  —  Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, is assembling a small band of warrior-intellectuals — including a quirky Australian anthropologist, a Princeton economist who is the son of a former U.S. attorney general and a military expert …

Congress must stop an attack on Iran  —  DESPITE ANGUISH and anger over the Bush administration's decision to escalate its failing war in Iraq, Congress is unlikely to cut off funding.  Even most opponents of the war fear that they could be blamed for not supporting the troops in the field …

Insh'allah: A Nighttime Raid with the Iraqi Army  —  It was after midnight when our convoy of Jundi (Iraqi Army soldiers) and trailing Marine advisors rolled out into Fallujah's neighborhoods, their darkened Humvees barreling down pitch black streets and muddy back alleys.

IRAN ODDS AND ENDS:  —  Lately, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been insisting that, despite all signs to the contrary, the Bush administration has no plans for a war with Iran:  —  Right, and if everyone claps loud enough, we might almost forget this headline from May of 2002: "Rumsfeld: No Plans to Invade Iraq."

Climate of Opinion  —  The latest U.N. report shows the "warming" debate is far from settled.  —  Last week's headlines about the United Nations' latest report on global warming were typically breathless, predicting doom and human damnation like the most fervent religious evangelical.