Top Items:
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Takeover by Hamas Illustrates Failure of Bush's Mideast Vision — Five years ago this month, President Bush stood in the Rose Garden and laid out a vision for the Middle East that included Israel and a state called Palestine living together in peace. "I call on the Palestinian people …
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Martin Indyk / Washington Post:
A 'Two-State Solution,' Palestinian-Style — Does Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas know something that we don't? For five days his presidential security forces in Gaza came under organized attack by Hamas gunmen. His compound in Gaza City was under siege.
John Podhoretz / New York Post:
SELF-RULE? TRY MOB RULE — ISRAEL'S disengagement from Gaza, completed 22 months ago, has succeeded. — It was a demonstration project of a sort - an experiment in Palestinian self-rule. If the management of Gaza had gone well, there would have been a Palestinian state within three years, tops.
Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Hamas to Grant Amnesty to Fatah Leaders — Victorious Hamas gunmen rounded up senior military leaders of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip early Friday, then announced a general amnesty in a sign the Islamic movement is seeking to reconcile with its secular rivals after five days of fierce fighting.
Con Coughlin / Telegraph:
Fundamentalists threaten Israel from all sides
Fundamentalists threaten Israel from all sides
Discussion:
Ynetnews, Jerusalem Post, The Strata-Sphere, The Big Pharaoh, Yourish.com and Michael P.F. van der Galiën
Joseph Lieberman / Opinion Journal:
What I Saw in Iraq — Iran remains a problem, but Anbar has joined the fight against terror. — I recently returned from Iraq and four other countries in the Middle East, my first trip to the region since December. In the intervening five months, almost everything about the American war effort …
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Editor and Publisher:
Latest from McClatchy's Iraqi Staffers: The 'City of Cemeteries' — NEW YORK For several weeks, E&P has been featuring frank and often disturbing blog entries by McClatchy's Iraqi correspondents and staffers from their site, Inside Iraq. The writers' full names are not listed due to security concerns.
Discussion:
The Sideshow
New York Times:
The Laptop Is Mightier Than the Sword — WHILE waiting to see if the Iraq surge strategy pays off, President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have shown Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the door and brought in Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as the new White House "war czar."
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Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Senate Leader Criticizes Performance of Joint Chiefs Leader — Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, delivered a critical assessment on Thursday of Gen. Peter Pace's performance as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and demanded that Congress be given a "fair, honest and frank" …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Washington Post, White House, The Carpetbagger Report, Villainous Company and Taylor Marsh
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'
Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Villainous Company, Election Central, QandO, The Democratic Daily, Instapundit.com, Macsmind and Pajamas Media
New York Times:
Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill — Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced on Thursday that they had agreed on a way to revive a comprehensive immigration bill that was pulled off the Senate floor seven days ago. — The majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada …
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Washington Post:
U.S. Says Iraq Troop Surge Complete — The full contingent of new U.S. forces being sent to Iraq — what military leaders call a "surge" of troops to improve security and stability in the capital — was completed by Friday, with 28,500 additional troops now posted in the country, a U.S. military spokesman said.
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Alister Bull / Reuters:
US says Iraq troop surge complete — Source: Reuters — All U.S. troop reinforcements heading to Iraq to help restore security have now arrived, but it could take several more months before their weight is fully felt, the U.S. military said on Friday. — The United States …
CBN.com:
EXCLUSIVE: Fred Thompson Pro-Life Video Address — Watch Low Band EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: — CBNNews.com - It's Christmas in June here at The Brody File. Look what we found under the tree. It's a present from "supporters of Fred Thompson" given exclusively to The Brody File.
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National Review:
Rise of the Seculars — Paul Waldman has a very interesting article over at the Prospect pondering whether liberal secular Americans will become as "tribal" as evangelicals. He writes: … Let's put that aside for a moment. Ross Douthat, meanwhile, notes that Waldman's essay jibes …
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Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Bad News For Republicans: Poll Shows Voters Souring On GOP — The race for the Republican 2008 Presidential nomination is on — but a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll suggests the highly sought prize may be in danger of becoming a booby prize: … So it's good news for Fred …
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily
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Michael Kinsley / Time:
The Quiet Gay Revolution — When William F. Buckley Jr. revived American conservatism by founding National Review in 1955, he said the magazine's job was to stand "athwart history, yelling stop." At that time, history did seem to be moving in the wrong direction if you were a conservative, and Buckley was gutsy to admit as much.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
We Win — That was quick, wasn't it? Mike Kinsley writes …
We Win — That was quick, wasn't it? Mike Kinsley writes …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
David Ingram / Charlotte Observer:
N.C. pressed on voter listings — State, feds say rolls out of date, push changes; official says no need — RALEIGH —State and federal officials are mounting two broad challenges to the way North Carolina maintains its voter rolls, charging widespread irregularities that include votes cast under the names of dead people.
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
Who's Ahead? No, Seriously... It's nice to know that Mitt Romney has pulled ahead in New Hampshire, seven months before the primary voting. Thanks, Bill Schneider! Let me ask you something: Who's ahead in addressing a broken health care system? — It's fascinating to realize that Hillary Clinton, a woman, is ahead among women.
Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Delay Denied, Libby Is Seen as Weeks From Prison — I. Lewis Libby Jr., once one of the most powerful men in government, was escorted by federal marshals out a side door in a federal courtroom here Thursday for processing after a judge issued a final ruling that he would have to begin serving …
Anne Broache / CNET News.com:
Bush administration attacks 'shield' for bloggers — WASHINGTON—The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources. — The latest draft of the Free Flow …