News Analysis: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush  —  Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.

Bush says this summer critical for Iraq war … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush said Thursday that this summer would be a critical time for his Iraq strategy as Congress was poised to vote on a new war spending bill.  —  Answering reporters' questions at a White House news conference …

QUESTIONS FOR OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS  —  Bruce is a big boy, and certainly doesn't need me to help him out, but let's talk about Iraq for a moment.  Because I have questions for people like Oliver Willis to which I'm curious to hear the answers.  And I'm not asking in a snarky way.  I'm honestly interested.

Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account'  —  LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.

U.S. military continues to discharge gay Arab linguists, and Congress members seek hearing  —  WASHINGTON: Lawmakers who say the military has kicked out 58 Arabic linguists because they were gay want the Pentagon to explain how it can afford to let the valuable language specialists go.

Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq  —  More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.

Rules Skirted, Millions Wasted on Navy Boat Barriers  —  The men from al-Qaeda guided their bomb-laden skiff through the harbor and drew near the USS Cole, detonating a quarter-ton of C-4 plastic explosive that killed 17 sailors and tore a 40-foot hole in the side of the Navy destroyer.

Grim Milestone: War on Terror Fatalities Reach Ominous Threshold  —  It is not an easy decision to vote for war.  —  It's not easy committing your soldiers to the battlefield.  —  Yet, the democratic-led Congress did just that in 2002.  —  Surely, they knew what their vote would mean …

Immigration and Welfare  —  Most of them will pay at least as much as they collect.  —  The immigration debate is roaring again, and we're happy to join the fun.  One place to start is a myth that has become a key talking point among restrictionists on the right—to wit …

Improvement in Iraq: Trust Joe Klein and his secret sources  —  Q. If you're a Bush administration official and you want to create a prominent headline in Time Magazine proclaiming what great improvement there is in Iraq, what do you do?  —  A. Have someone with a shiny military uniform …

The entire government has failed us on Iraq  —  For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal  —  SPECIAL COMMENT  —  A Special Comment about the Democrats' deal …

The Bitter End  —  Democrats are right to push for an end to the Iraq war.  But don't expect the troops to be grateful.  In 2003, an optimist could hope that the United States would establish a liberal democracy in Iraq.  Four years into the war in Iraq, an optimist can hope that a "surge" …