Top Items:
Thomas Harding / Telegraph:
Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran — Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned. — More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.
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Matthew Yglesias:
Assassination Vacation — One thing to consider about the Glenn Reynolds / Hugh Hewitt assassination strategy for coping with the Iranian nuclear program ("we should be responding quietly, killing radical mullahs and Iranian atomic scientists") beyond the obvious is how we once again see conservatives …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Extremist Bush supporter calls for murder of scientists — Whenever you think that Bush followers cannot get any more depraved in what they advocate, they always prove you wrong. This is what University of Tennessee Law Professor and right-wing blogger Glenn Reynolds said today about claims …
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Iranian Smoking Guns Found ... Literally — The Telegraph reports this morning that rifles imported from Austria by Iran have surfaced among insurgents in Iraq. Steyr-Mannlicher exported 800 of its high-powered HS50 models, capable of piercing body armor, to the National Iranian Police Association for their anti-narcotics efforts:
The Blotter:
Foggo Indictment Expected; Dark Day for the CIA — Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report: — Federal prosecutors in San Diego are expected today to announce indictments in a case that involves the former No. 3 official at the CIA, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, officials tell ABC News.
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Allison Hoffman / Associated Press:
Former CIA official, contractor indicted — SAN DIEGO - The CIA's former No. 3 official and a defense contractor were charged Tuesday with fraud and other offenses in the corruption investigation that sent former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison, The Associated Press has learned.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Star Character Witnesses at Libby Trial — A familiar-looking man in his early 60s took the stand at the Scooter Libby trial yesterday morning. "I need to ask you to spell your last name," said defense attorney Bill Jeffress. — "W-O-O-D-W-A-R-D," the man replied. — This was not sufficient for Judge Reggie Walton.
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Jim Yardley / New York Times:
North Korea to Close Reactor in Exchange for Raft of Aid — North Korea agreed today to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for a package of food, fuel and other aid from the United States, China, South Korea and Russia. The breakthrough, announced by the Chinese government …
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Edward Cody / Washington Post:
N. Korea Agrees to Nuclear Disarmament — In a landmark international accord, North Korea promised Tuesday to close down and seal its lone nuclear reactor within 60 days in return for 50,000 tons of fuel oil as a first step in abandoning all nuclear weapons and research programs.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner, The Corner, Bradford Plumer, Blue Crab Boulevard, Iowa Voice and Decision '08
USA Today:
Will Mormon faith hurt bid for White House? — SALT LAKE CITY — It's easy to find Mormons who have run into misconceptions about their faith. Take Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Republican Party in Utah, a state that's 70% Mormon. "I only have one mom. I only have one wife," he says.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Caucus, CNN Political Ticker, DownWithTyranny!, Eunomia and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog
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USA Today:
Poll: 63% want all troops home by end of '08 — WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly support congressional action to cap the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and set a timetable to bring them home by the end of next year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds — tougher action than the non-binding resolution …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Daily Kos and First Read
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Mark Murray / First Read:
BOEHNER GETS EMOTIONAL — From NBC's Mike Viqueira — House Minority Leader John Boehner got emotional this morning as he spoke about the "solemn" debate that the House is set to begin today over the non-binding resolution opposing Bush's troop increase.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
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Associated Press:
U.S. general: No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis — Pace contradicts claims by other U.S. military, administration officials — JAKARTA, Indonesia - A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs …
The Smoking Gun:
Rudy Giuliani's Vulnerabilities — Secret study cited "weirdness factor" among candidate weaknesses — As he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph Giuliani will have to contend with political and personal baggage unknown to prospective supporters whose knowledge …
Emptywheel / Firedoglake:
Libby Live: Tedious Legal Arguments — graphic courtesy Monk at Inflatable Dartboard — NOTES: (1) This is not a transcript — It's the blogger's approximation, and no one really knows what that is yet! But I do know you shouldn't quote anything not in quotation marks.
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Year of the Rat — HILLARY CLINTON SCURRIES AWAY FROM HER OLD LINE ON IRAQ. — A hardened veteran of the British House of Commons once put it to me like this. "You can rat," he said. "Anybody can rat once. But it's very hard to re-rat." Ah, how slowly one learns to appreciate the fine art and science of repositioning.
James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
Amanda Marcotte Resigns from Edwards Campaign — Amanda Marcotte has resigned as John Edwards' blogger, on the basis that she was creating a distraction for the campaign. Rather than stop there, though, she plays the victim. … What in the world does gender have to do with it?
Discussion:
QandO, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Democratic Daily, Blue Mass. Group, The Moderate Voice, PoliBlog (TM) and The Reaction
New York Times:
Long a Target Over Faulty Iraq Intelligence, Ex-C.I.A. Chief Prepares to Return Fire — For the past two years, George J. Tenet has maintained a determined silence even as senior White House officials have laid the blame for the prewar mistakes about Saddam Hussein on him.
Reuters:
BofA aims new credit card at illegal immigrants: report — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, typically illegal immigrants, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. — In recent years …
Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:
Now It's Personal: Al Qaeda Calls Bush an Alcoholic Liar — Brian Ross Reports: — The latest taped statement from al Qaeda is an unusually personal attack on President Bush, in which al Qaeda's No. 2 in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, denounces Bush as "an alcoholic, liar and gambler with an addictive personality."