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CNN:
Bush: U.S. aims to protect troops, not wage war with Iran … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Wednesday he did not know if Iranian leaders sent weapons used to kill U.S. troops in Iraq but Iranian-made bombs were having a deadly effect and the United States had to respond.
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Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:
Officials linked to al-Sadr deny he fled — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that the radical Shiite cleric was still in Iraq, denying a report that he fled to Iran ahead of a security crackdown targeting his militia. — An Iraqi government official said al-Sadr …
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Juan / Informed Comment:
On the Mystery of Muqtada al-Sadr's Disappearance
On the Mystery of Muqtada al-Sadr's Disappearance
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Political Animal
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
House Democrats' New Strategy: Force Slow End to War — Led by Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and supported by several well-funded anti-war groups, the coalition's goal is to limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict, rather than to openly cut off funding for the war itself.
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Gateway Pundit:
Explosion in Iran Kills Busload of Al Quds Members!! — An explosion today killed a reported 18 Al Quds members traveling in a bus in southeastern Iran. — Fars News is carrying this picture of one of those arrested after the blast earlier today — A car bomb exploded killing 18 Al Quds members today in Zahedan, Iran:
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Yourish.com
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Betsy Rothstein / The Hill:
Rep. Ellison calls the cops to snuff Tancredo's cigar — Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn't believe it's Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.
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Shakespeare's Sister, TPMCafe blogs, Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air, Redstate, "7.62mm Justice" ™ and theneweditor.com
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Neoconservatives hate liberty as much as they love war — Frank Gaffney, one of the country's most influential and well-connected neoconservatives, has a column in today's Washington Times in which he argues that the debate taking place in Congress over the war in Iraq constitutes treason.
Baltimore Sun:
America's view of Republicans crumbles in Iraq — According to the latest Gallup survey, Republican self-identification has declined nationally and in almost every American state. Why? The short answer is that President Bush's war of choice in Iraq has destroyed the partisan brand Republicans spent the past four decades building.
Deseret News:
6 minutes of horror … In just six minutes, 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic left a tragic path of destruction that forever changed the lives of dozens of people. — "His intent was to shoot as many people as he possibly could," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank.
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Classical Values, BizzyBlog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Jihad Watch and Little Green Footballs
Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:
Candidates Find A New Stump In the Blogosphere — Nearly a year before the first caucuses and primaries take place, the 2008 presidential campaign advertising war is under way online. — Candidates of both parties are already buying space on search engines, blogs and other Internet sites popular …
New York Times:
Libby and Cheney Won't Testify, Says the Defense — Lawyers defending I. Lewis Libby Jr. against perjury charges surprised the courtroom on Tuesday by saying that they would rest their case this week and do so without putting on the stand either Mr. Libby or Vice President Dick Cheney.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Nation, White House Watch, TPMCafe blogs, Is That Legal? and JustOneMinute
Anne Applebaum / Telegraph:
War with Iran is in no one's interests — 'War in Iraq, war in Iran? " That's a headline I saw in Britain earlier this week. In Washington, the headlines read more like "Tentative nuclear deal reached with North Korea" and "Obama must show more than potential", but never mind …
Nathan Gonzales / Opinion Journal:
The Ever-'Present' Obama — Barack has a along track record of not taking a stand. — Finally and officially, Barack Obama is running for president. His symbolic announcement, in the Land of Lincoln, called for a new era in politics. Obama downplayed his thin federal experience …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
In 1993 Memo, Giuliani Staff Gave Harsh Assessment of Flaws — Sometimes in politics, the most damaging accusations come from your own staff. — Rudolph W. Giuliani learned that lesson again yesterday when a "vulnerability study," including warnings about his "weirdness factor" …
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Captain's Quarters
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Parsing the Polls: Answering the Mormon Question — The fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon is no secret. Scads of stories have been written about that very fact, and it's a regular topic of conversation among Washington's chattering class. — What effect Romney's religion will have on his chances …