McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships  —  Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are "not getting the full picture" of what's going on in Iraq.

Obama says Congress will fund Iraq war  —  SIOUX CITY, Iowa - If President Bush vetoes an Iraq war spending bill as promised, Congress quickly will provide the money without the withdrawal timeline the White House objects to because no lawmaker "wants to play chicken with our troops," …

Mitchell: Petraeus Held Closed-Door Strategy Meeting With Republican Caucus  —  This morning on the Chris Matthews Show, NBC News' Andrea Mitchell revealed that Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, met "very recently" with the Senate Republican caucus to discuss their strategy on Iraq legislation.

Clinton Raises $26M... Good, Bad, Or Brick-Crap Time?  —  Here it is: Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign raised a record-setting $26 million for her presidential campaign in the first three months of a year, an impressive feat that may nonetheless be overshadowed in the next few days by news that Sen. Barack Obama managed to keep pace.

Tainted Wheat Gluten Sold as "Food Grade"  —  Del Monte Foods has confirmed that the melamine-tainted wheat gluten used in several of its recalled pet food products was supplied as a "food grade" additive, raising the likelihood that contaminated wheat gluten might have entered the human food supply.

ABC's Silent Expert  —  Stephanopoulos knows more than he lets on about firing U.S. attorneys.  —  How does "World News with Charles Gibson" do it?  For the fifth time in seven weeks, the ABC newscast the week before last drew the biggest audience on average (8.4 million) of the three network evening-news shows.

Australian's Plea Deal Was Negotiated Without Prosecutors  —  The plea deal that allows Australian David M. Hicks to leave the detention facility here with a nine-month sentence was negotiated between defense attorneys and the convening authority for military commissions without the knowledge of prosecutors …

Europe has failed us in the Iran crisis  —  Labour's Margaret Beckett is getting it right.  It's our EU allies who are letting us down  —  The Iranians are a sophisticated and sensitive people.  From time to time, however, they do something dumb.  The seizure of 15 British sailors and Royal Marines was one such example.

MTP Transcript for April 1, 2007  —  Patrick Leahy, Orrin Hatch, Charlie Rangel  —  MR. RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: Tough words on Capitol Hill over the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.  —  SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): The Republicans are the ones who don't want to have the hearings.

Tommy Thompson to run for president  —  WASHINGTON - Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson on Sunday joined the crowded field of Republicans running for the White House in 2008 and proclaimed himself the "reliable conservative" in the race.  —  Thompson, who was health and human services …

U.S. House Visit Syria to Discuss Ties  —  DAMASCUS, Syria — U.S. House members meeting with President Bashar Assad Sunday said they believed there was an opportunity for dialogue with the Syrian leadership.  —  The U.S. House members, who included Virginia Republican Frank Wolf …

A Chat with General David Petraeus  —  The following is an OPFOR exclusive.  Our friend Richard S. Lowry, currently working on a historical account of the surge, sat down for an extensive phone interview with General Petraeus last Thursday.  Richard transcribed the conversation into the post below …