Pratfall in Damascus  —  Nancy Pelosi's foolish shuttle diplomacy  —  HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad.

They're free, but Britain has been humiliated  —  Relief at the freeing of the British sailors and Marines in Iran is tempered with dismay at the humiliation to which they and the country they serve have been subjected.  —  The 14 men and one woman are due to return to Britain today …

Gonzales Prepares to Fight for His Job in Testimony  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has retreated from public view this week in an intensive effort to save his job, spending hours practicing testimony and phoning lawmakers for support in preparation for pivotal appearances in the Senate this month …

Petraeus Cites Areas of Improvement in Baghdad  —  JIM LEHRER: Now to our Newsmaker interview with General David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq.  I spoke to him this morning from the Green Zone in Baghdad.  —  General, welcome.  —  GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, Commander, U.S. Forces in Iraq: Thanks very much, Jim.

An Army, Not a Militia  —  SULEIMANIYA, IRAQ - Iraq is a country with three armies and I'm-not-sure-how-many militias and death squads.  The Iraqi Army is nominally the national army, but it's still being trained, supplied, and augmented by the coalition forces, which is to say the Americans.

Al-Sahab Expected To Release New Bin Ladin Video  —  Terrorism: Al-Sahab Reportedly To Release New Bin Ladin Video Message  —  On 4 April, a jihadist website carried the following posting:  —  "After a long absence by the shaykh of mujahidin, whom we have missed as well as his speeches …

The Public Eye Chat With.Allen Pizzey  —  The Public Eye Chat With...Allen Pizzey  —  It's Thursday, and that means it's time for the Public Eye Chat.  This week's subject is Rome-based CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey.  You can read excerpts, and listen to the full interview, below.

Zogby: Romney Rockets!  —  Latest New Hampshire telephone poll shows Romney's support nearly doubles to 25% to tie McCain; Giuliani trails at 19%  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has rocketed to the top of the field of contenders for the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary crown …

THE NEXT CRUSADE  —  Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank.  —  Text Size: … The Selimiye Mosque, in Edirne, a city in northwest Turkey, is a magnificent stone edifice, with four minarets and an austere, octagonal-shaped body supporting a large dome.  Built for Sultan Selim II in the sixteenth century …

Running for Dollars  —  At least one of the presidential candidates making the first feverish dash of the 2008 fund-raising derby felt obliged to describe the tastelessness of the race.  "I'm raising obscene amounts of money," said Senator Barack Obama, hardly pausing on his way to piling up a first-round total of $25 million.

Probe Targets GSA Chief  —  Justin Rood Reports:  —  Another federal investigation is targeting a Bush administration official, this time for possibly using government resources for partisan political purposes.  —  The Office of Special Counsel confirmed to ABC News it has launched …

Where's Bill?  —  As you know, Bill Donohue has been busy this week.  —  Generally, though, he's not too busy to have a rapid response to Catholic politicians who take political stances contrary to the teachings of the Church.  —  So it seems odd that he hasn't had anything to say about this

Bush Uses Recess to Fill Envoy Post and 2 Others  —  President Bush used the Congressional recess on Wednesday to push through his choice to be ambassador to Belgium and to fill two domestic policy positions, provoking Democratic ire with all three appointments.

Joe Klein in Tomorrow's TIME: Bush 'Clearly Unfit to Lead'  —  NEW YORK In the upcoming issue of Time magazine, out Friday, columnist Joe Klein considers what he calls the Bush administration's "epic collapse."  He concludes with a statement that may make some wonder if he is hinting that the president ought to be impeached.

Belgium to impose tax on barbequing to fight global warming  —  The government of Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia, which has a population of about 4 million, has approved a tax on barbequing, local media reported.  —  Experts said that between 50 and 100 grams of CO2 …

For the Edwards Kids, It's Time for Stump School  —  Two political insiders have joined John and Elizabeth Edwards on the campaign trail this week: Emma Claire, 8, and Jack, 6.  The kids are on spring break, but this fall they'll get a tutor and hit the road.  —  "They love it," said Jennifer Palmieri, a campaign aide.

RAMESH PONNURU ON THE MARCH:  —  A couple weeks ago I recorded a bloggingheads segment, which unfortunately was lost to posterity due to technical problems, in which I was asked who I consider the most intellectually honest conservative writer.  I named Ramesh Ponnuru.