Hussein's Prewar Ties To Al-Qaeda Discounted  —  Pentagon Report Says Contacts Were Limited  —  Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides "all confirmed" that Hussein's regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq …

Bill O'Reilly Loses His Damn Mind  —  In the entire, dark, black history of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, this is probably the craziest clip ever.  A young girl was tragically killed by a drunk driver.  But this was not enough for O'Reilly.  Instead, because the criminal was an illegal alien …

Britain's Humiliation — and Europe's  —  Iran has pulled off a tidy little success with its seizure and release of those 15 British sailors and marines: a pointed humiliation of Britain, with a bonus demonstration of Iran's intention to push back against coalition challenges to its assets in Iraq.

An Administration's Epic Collapse  —  The first three months of the new Democratic Congress have been neither terrible nor transcendent.  A Pew poll had it about right: a substantial majority of the public remains happy the Democrats won in 2006, but neither Nancy Pelosi nor Harry Reid …

Pelosi was nuts to visit with Assad  —  In visiting Syria this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi no doubt meant well.  She wants dialogue.  As a woman, mother, and now the third-highest-ranking elected official in American politics, she has achieved a great deal in life by talking with people.

Federal Official in Student Loans Held Loan Stock  —  A senior official at the federal Education Department sold more than $100,000 in shares in a student loan company even as he was helping oversee lenders in the federal student loan program.  —  The official, Matteo Fontana …

Guantánamo Follies  —  There has been much speculation about the Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal from a group of Guantánamo Bay inmates until they have exhausted their legal options.  Was the court signaling that the appeal had no merit?

Romney Used His Wealth to Enlist Richest Donors  —  Mitt Romney, the multimillionaire founder of a giant private equity firm, knew he did not need other people's money to mount a presidential campaign.  But as they began planning a campaign more than two years ago, Mr. Romney and his advisers wanted …

4 In U.S. Attorney's Office Resign In Protest  —  (WCCO) The four top administrators in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota have resigned their administrative positions.  According to highly placed sources, the administrators have quit in protest over the job being done by Rachel Paulose, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota.

Getting Paid To Blog  —  The Nation raises the shame of the leftie blogosphere: We don't support our own in the way that counts the most: … Unfortunately, this article is a near-perfect illustration of the problem.  Becca Golubock Watson writes about the difficulty experienced …

And Iraq's big oil contracts go to ...  Companies from China, India and other Asian nations are seen getting the first contracts.  But don't write off Big Oil just yet.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil …

12,000 more Guard troops may be going to Iraq  —  Deployment order planned to lessen 'surge's' strain on stretched-thin Army  —  WASHINGTON - Coming on the heels of a controversial "surge" of 21,000 U.S. troops that has stretched the Army thin, the Defense Department is preparing to send …

Dutch Soldiers Stress Restraint in Afghanistan  —  QALA-E-SURKH, Afghanistan — The Dutch infantrymen stood on a ridge near the Baluchi Valley, an area in south-central Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban and tribes opposed to the central government.  —  Whenever they push farther …