Increased Strife Is Foreseen in Iraq if U.S. Troops Leave  —  There is one matter on which American military commanders, many Iraqis and some of the Bush administration's staunchest Congressional critics agree: if the United States withdrew its forces from Baghdad's streets this fall, the murder and mayhem would increase.

White House plays down report of Iraq troop cut  —  Source: Reuters  —  The White House on Saturday played down a newspaper report that the Bush administration was weighing a scenario for possibly sharp cuts in U.S. troop levels in Iraq next year.  —  The New York Times …

U.S. Rejects G-8 Climate Proposal  —  Germany Urges Limiting Emissions, Temperature Increase  —  U.S. officials have raised a second round of unusually bluntly worded objections to a proposed global-warming declaration that Germany prepared for next month's Group of Eight summit, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

Iraq Intelligence Horror Stories Shouldn't Be Old News  —  Hearing horror stories about the manipulation of Iraq intelligence is like watching "The Exorcist" again and again: Each time you see something new and laugh at the parts that used to make your hair go up straight.

Officials Say Justice Dept. Based Hires on Politics Before Goodling Tenure  —  The Justice Department considered political affiliation in screening applicants for immigration court judgeships for several years until hiring was frozen in December after objections from department lawyers, current and former officials said yesterday.