Top Items:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Defense Rests, and Not a Minute Too Soon — For a brief moment yesterday, Scooter Libby was not a former White House aide on trial for perjury. He was an orphan in need of a loving home. — "He's been under my protection for the last month; now I'm entrusting him to you," defense lawyer Ted Wells told the puzzled jurors.
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Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
In Closing Pleas, Clashing Views on Libby's Role — Defense lawyers and prosecutors in the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. made their final summations on Tuesday, offering the jury two starkly different ways to evaluate the evidence presented over the last few weeks.
Washington Post:
Libby 'Told a Dumb Lie,' Prosecutor Says in Closing Argument — Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff lied to investigators about his role in leaking a CIA officer's identity in order to keep his job and protect the White House from political embarrassment, prosecutors told jurors yesterday …
Marc Santora / New York Times:
Rape Accusation Reinforces Fears in a Divided Iraq — The most wicked acts are spoken of openly and without reserve in Iraq. Torture, stabbings and bodies ripped to pieces in bombings are all part of the daily conversation. — Rape is different. — Rape is not mentioned by the victims, and rarely by the authorities.
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Tony Blair's abrupt reversal on Iraq — Tony Blair, January 24, 2007 (from The Los Angeles Times) … A "deeply irresponsible" Tony Blair, today (from Associated Press) … That rather striking reversal does not appear to reflect much confidence in the prospects of success for the President's Glorious AEI Surge currently underway.
Discussion:
Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Gateway Pundit, Needlenose, Decision '08, Riehl World View, DownWithTyranny! and NewsBusters.org
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Richard Norton-Taylor / Guardian:
Iraq: the British endgame
Iraq: the British endgame
Discussion:
CNN, The Raw Story, Hot Air, Telegraph, Captain's Quarters, Don Surber, Political Animal, NewsHog and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES
Washington Post:
The Woman in the Middle — Moderate Democrat Is New Target of Liberal Bloggers — The Democratic majority was only three weeks old, but by Jan. 26, the grass-roots and Net-roots activists of the party's left wing had already settled on their new enemy: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) …
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!, Blue Crab Boulevard, PSoTD, Pajamas Media, Outside The Beltway, PrairiePundit and theneweditor.com
Washington Post:
Swift Action Promised at Walter Reed — Investigations Urged as Army Moves to Make Repairs, Improve Staffing — The White House and congressional leaders called yesterday for swift investigation and repair of the problems plaguing outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center …
Discussion:
Debsweb
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James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
Iraq War Attitudes — Public Opinion Strategies* has released a survey [PDF file here] of likely voters' attitudes toward the Iraq War that finds that most voters think the country is going in the wrong direction (67%) and President Bush is doing a poor job (60%), and that Iraq will never be a stable democracy (60%).
Discussion:
protein wisdom, No More Mister Nice Blog, Redstate, Blue Crab Boulevard, Daily Pundit, Power Line and QandO
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R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Berger Case Still Roils Archives, Justice Dept. — In a chandeliered room at the Justice Department, the longtime head of the counterespionage section, the chief of the public integrity unit, a deputy assistant attorney general, some trial lawyers and a few FBI agents all looked down at their pant legs and socks.
Faiz / Think Progress:
Tony Snow and White House Reporters Slam The 'Hateful,' 'Polarized' Blogosphere — In a press roundtable at the National Press Club tonight, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow led a discussion with White House correspondents about the impact of the internet on their respective jobs. Their conclusion?
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister, Fact-esque, Alternate Brain, Daily Kos, Suburban Guerrilla, QandO, The Agonist, The Heretik and State of the Day
Josh White / Washington Post:
Guantanamo Detainees Lose Appeal — Habeas Corpus Case May Go to High Court — A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that hundreds of detainees in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in federal courts, a victory for the Bush administration …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, the talking dog, Obsidian Wings, Gun Toting Liberal ™, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Daily Kos
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's Extreme Makeover — Precisely two years ago, Mitt Romney, then the governor of Massachusetts but already eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, sat in the coffee shop of a Washington hotel, doing his best not to explain his views on abortion. — Romney was speaking to a few of us from The Post …
Matthew Yglesias / American Prospect:
Fitting the Bill — Why isn't Bill Richardson's presidential candidacy taken seriously? — On Thursday, February 8, Bill Richardson delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on "The New Realism and the Rebirth of American Leadership," laying out the foreign policy vision …
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Eric Alterman thinks there should be a "blogging council" to condemn bloggers who go wrong. — Alterman is talking with Mark Schmitt on the new Bloggingheads. They've just discussed the problem the Edwards campaign had with the bloggers it hired. (Eric says, and I agree …
Discussion:
QandO
Borzou Daragahi / Los Angeles Times:
Joint force weighs move on Sadr City — The vast Baghdad slum harbors a key militia but a sweep could backfire. — BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi forces have moved aggressively in the last week to combat Sunni Arab insurgents in neighborhoods across the capital and to establish a stronger presence …