Operation Baghdad Has Started!  —  Minutes after nighttime curfew began in Baghdad at 9 pm we saw breaking news on al-Hurra and al-Jazeera saying that Baghdad's security operation has just started.  —  The news says the first operation is currently underway in Azamiyah in the northeastern part of the city.

RUDY'S RIGHT STUFF  —  IT'S semi-pseudo-almost-nearly kind-of official: Rudy's running for president.  Basically.  In essence.  He could change his mind.  But he probably won't.  Almost certainly.  —  Which makes sense.  Rudy Giuliani is leading the Republican field by five points …

Military Wants More Civilians to Help in Iraq  —  Senior military officers, including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have told President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that the new Iraq strategy could fail unless more civilian agencies step forward quickly to carry out plans …

GOP Views Clinton As Virtually Unbeatable  —  What many conservatives regard as the nightmare scenario — President Hillary Rodham Clinton — is increasingly seen by veteran Republican politicians and strategists as virtual inevitability.  —  In GOP circles, the Democratic front-runner is seen as so strong …

Libby Speaks on Tape, but May Not in Court  —  The jurors deciding the perjury case against I. Lewis Libby Jr. listened to his voice on audiotape for hours on Tuesday as his lawyers quietly explored a surprise strategy, keeping him off the witness stand, that would ensure that the jurors never hear his voice in person.

Lawmaker: U.S. sent giant pallets of cash into Iraq … WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Federal Reserve sent record payouts of more than $4 billion in cash to Baghdad on giant pallets aboard military planes shortly before the United States gave control back to Iraqis, lawmakers said Tuesday.

Exasperated House bypasses Senate on Iraq  —  Representatives schedule their own vote to oppose Bush's troop 'surge'  —  WASHINGTON - House leaders got fed up with waiting around for the Senate to act and decided Tuesday to go ahead with their own vote on a resolution opposing President Bush's plan to add 21,500 U.S. troops in Iraq.

McCain Campaign Staff and Bloggers: The Lovers' Quarrel Conference Call  —  All right, so some would argue that McCain and the bloggers have never had enough of a relationship to qualify the current disagreements as "lovers' quarrels," but the call and the conversation the campaign staff is starting to have is a bit, "baby, come back.

In defense of vagueness and ambiguities  —  Kevin Drum touched on a point today I've been kicking around for a long while.  I'd love to get some feedback on this.  —  In light of John Edwards' decision to unveil a fairly detailed health care plan, Mark Schmitt suggests it's a bad idea …

Slow News Day?  —  Arianna Huffington, the doyenne of the Hollywood left, has taken time from her busy schedule to attack me for something I said on Meet the Press three years ago.  Since this lone quote has become an article of faith among the take-no-prisoners left, let me respond:  —  1. Yes, I said it.

Hackers Attack Key Net Traffic Computers  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002.  —  Experts said the unusually powerful attacks lasted …

'Give Us the Proof'  —  Iran's ambassador to Baghdad responds to charges that Tehran is fostering sectarian violence and helping insurgents in Iraq.  —  Tensions between the United States and Iran, seldom below simmering, are reaching boiling point in Iraq.

Global warming debate spurs Ore. title tiff  —  In the face of evidence agreed upon by hundreds of climate scientists, George Taylor holds firm.  He does not believe human activities are the main cause of global climate change.  —  Taylor also holds a unique title: State Climatologist.

To Help Iraq, Let It Fend for Itself  —  THE sooner President Bush can get his extra troops for a "surge" in Iraq, the sooner he will be able to announce that all American troops are coming home because of the inevitable failure of the Iraqi government to "live up to its side of the bargain."

In Campaign 2008, Candidates Starting Earlier, Spending More  —  Starting as early as last June, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was hiring staffers and consultants in New Hampshire and Iowa and building the foundation for his 2008 presidential bid at a time when those in early battleground states typically …