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 …

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 …

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 …

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

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 …

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.

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.

A Dubious Electoral Idea  —  When it comes to persistence in pursuit of a political goal, no one can beat Birch Bayh.  —  It has been almost 40 years since the former Democratic senator from Indiana became the prime sponsor of a constitutional amendment for direct popular election of the president.