Iran nabs British sailors in Iraq waters  —  LONDON - Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors who had boarded a ship suspected of smuggling cars in the Persian Gulf off the Iraqi coast on Friday, officials said.  —  The British government demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."

House Dems more confident on Iraq vote  —  WASHINGTON - House Democrats are increasingly confident they have the votes to pass legislation designed to force an end to the war in Iraq next year.  —  Several party members dropped their opposition to the bill following days of wrangling within a deeply divided caucus.

E-Mails Show Machinations to Replace Prosecutor  —  Administration Worked for Months to Make Rove Aide U.S. Attorney in Arkansas  —  Two months before Bud Cummins was fired as U.S. attorney in Little Rock, a protege of presidential adviser Karl Rove was maneuvering with the Justice Department to take his place.

White House Spokesman to Undergo Surgery  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow is undergoing surgery Monday to remove a growth in his lower abdomen, a procedure he said was being done "out of an aggressive sense of caution" because he had colon cancer two years ago.

Retreat and Butter  —  TODAY THE House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that would grant $25 million to spinach farmers in California.  The legislation would also appropriate $75 million for peanut storage in Georgia and $15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater.

Politics, Lies, and 93 v. 8  —  David Brooks has an excellent column today, and not for the usual reasons that liberals praise Brooks (and he drives conservatives crazy): because he comes halfway toward us.  It's because, in discussing the US Attorneys story, he nails a distinction that I, at least, was struggling with.

Ex-Deputy to Plead Guilty in Lobbyist Case  —  WASHINGTON — Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles will plead guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in the Jack Abramoff corruption investigation, The Associated Press has learned.  —  Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist who became …

GAO Faults U.S. Military Over Munitions in Iraq  —  Report Says Insurgents Took Unsecured Explosives  —  The U.S. military's faulty war plans and insufficient troops in Iraq left thousands and possibly millions of tons of conventional munitions unsecured or in the hands of insurgent groups …

Clinton: 'It's just not fair'  —  Former President Bill Clinton yesterday complained that "it's just not fair" the way his wife, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), is being depicted for her controversial Iraq war vote.  —  Speaking to hundreds of supporters on conference call …

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007  —  Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats  —  Summary of Findings  —  View the complete report in pdf format  —  Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality …

Symposium: The First Nuclear Terrorist Power  —  An Islamist insurgency is afoot in Pakistan, posing a dire threat of overthrowing Musharraf.  —  And this may happen sooner rather than later.  —  If the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is created, it means Islamists get their hands on Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

Army Revises Upward the Number of Desertions  —  A total of 3,196 active-duty soldiers deserted the Army last year, or 853 more than previously reported, according to revised figures from the Army.  —  The new calculations by the Army, which had about 500,000 active-duty troops at the end of 2006 …

Charged With Leading Ethics Inquiry Into Firings, Cornyn 'Doesn't See What Hubbub Is All About'  —  Nearly two weeks ago, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called for a Senate ethics inquiry into whether Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) improperly pressured U.S. Attorney David Iglesias …

Michael Yon threatened with expulsion by a general  —  This is stupid.  Michael Yon and Bill Roggio are the best out there.  Telling Michael Yon to exit the theater is the WWII equivalent of telling Ernie Pyle to quit filing dispatches.  —  Everyone knows the PAO system has never …

How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits  —  Jon Town has spent the last few years fighting two battles, one against his body, the other against the US Army.  Both began in October 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq.  He was standing in the doorway of his battalion's headquarters when a 107-millimeter rocket struck two feet above his head.

Unnecessary Scandal  —  Alberto Gonzales has to go.  I say this with no pleasure — he's a decent and honorable man — and without the slightest expectation that his departure will blunt the Democratic assault on the Bush administration over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.