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 Big Pharaoh, The Strata-Sphere, Yourish.com and Michael P.F. van der Galiën
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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Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'
Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Election Central, Villainous Company, QandO, The Democratic Daily, Instapundit.com, Macsmind and Pajamas Media
Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Why Were They Fired? — President Bush last month complained …
Why Were They Fired? — President Bush last month complained …
Discussion:
The Heretik
Bill / INDCJournal:
Astounding — I've been pretty sick of political wrangling …
Astounding — I've been pretty sick of political wrangling …
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee
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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Maura Reynolds / Los Angeles Times:
Senate strikes deal to revive immigration bill
Senate strikes deal to revive immigration bill
Discussion:
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 …
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."
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.
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 …
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.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
The Line: Senate Map Is Messy for GOP — Most of the recent action in the budding 2008 Senate campaigns came in races that didn't make our last rankings. — In Texas, wealthy attorney Mikal Watts (D) not only formed a campaign committee but also dropped nearly $4 million of his own money into it.
Gerard Baker / Times of London:
You won't see Termination 2 at the movies — Liberal Hollywood shies away from abortion — In grim times Americans turn to Hollywood for escapist cheer, and this summer the fantasy factory has not disappointed. The multiplexes are unusually full of feelgood movies to chase away the troubled superpower blues.
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.