'Meet the Press' transcript for June 17, 2007  —  U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker discusses the war and progress  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: a new Pentagon report says despite the military surge, the overall levels of violence in Iraq have not decreased.

Climate change behind Darfur killing: UN's Ban  —  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the slaughter in Darfur was triggered by global climate change and that more such conflicts may be on the horizon, in an article published Saturday.  —  "The Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis …

Fatah: Help us get Hamas out of W. Bank  —  Fatah leaders have appealed to Israel to halt security measures against Fatah gunmen in the West Bank and promised to continue their massive crackdown on Hamas there, Palestinian Authority officials here said on Sunday.

June 17: Petraeus hints Iraq "surge" may be needed longer  —  Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said he does not expect the "surge" of 30,000 additional troops to Iraq to finish their job by September, a critical month when lawmakers expect a clear read on whether …

Who Is The Scariest GOP Presidential Candidate?  —  The Carpetbagger wants to know: … Tancredo might indeed be the scariest but the institutional GOP probably hates him just about as much as the left does these days so it's not really much of a threat.  Personally I find "Double Gitmo" …

The Democrats' Democracy Problem  —  Democrats today have a problem with democracy.  We have lost our voice on the issue of promoting democracy abroad — which means that what was once a core Democratic foreign policy idea is being ceded to the GOP.  —  In 1995, democracy promotion …

End Looms for Iraq Arms Inspection Unit  —  The search for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction appears close to an official conclusion, several years after their absence became a foregone one.  —  The United States and Britain have circulated a new proposal to the members …

2 rockets land in Kiryat Shmona  —  Two rockets fired at northern town of Kiryat Shmona Sunday afternoon; no injuries reported, one rocket hits car.  Hizbullah denies responsibility, Palestinian group may be behind attack.  IDF: Rockets launched from area close to UN outposts

Sy Hersh on Taguba's Abu Ghraib investigation  —  Sy Hersh joined Wolf on CNN this morning to talk about his new piece in The New Yorker: "How Antonio Taguba, who investigated the Abu Ghraib scandal, became one of its casualties."  It's another important story that Sy has brought to our attention.

Jonathan Alter believes Dems are struggling in the political debate over war policy, in part because they're not nearly as good as Republicans at coming up with bumper-sticker slogans. … To help Dems along, Alter suggests "strategic redeployment" isn't muscular enough when it comes to sloganeering …

Mob secrets go on trial  —  Murder.  Juice loans.  Pornography.  Street gambling.  —  With the sweeping "Family Secrets" conspiracy trial just days from starting, reputed mobster Joey "the Clown" Lombardo was looking pretty relaxed.  —  If not for the orange jumpsuit and the federal courtroom …

Autism Debate Strains a Family and Its Charity  —  A year after their grandson Christian received a diagnosis of autism in 2004, Bob Wright, then chairman of NBC/Universal, and his wife, Suzanne, founded Autism Speaks, a mega-charity dedicated to curing the dreaded neurological disorder …

Bias at the Beeb - official  —  There are some things you do not need an official report to tell you - that John Prescott thinks he is a babe magnet, that President Mugabe is not entirely in favour of white farmers and that Al-Qaeda takes a pretty dim view of the West.

Sink the pink  —  Pink mobiles, pink BBQs, pink planes ... A single colour is infantilising half the population  —  Before I tell you about the Pink Junkies (that growing tribe of otherwise sentient women who can't resist pink) I should admit that I'm not a very 'pink' person.

Why Republicans Recruit House Boys  —  Eureka!  I think maybe something snapped into place for me today, though I'm not sure.  I'll let you decide.  —  Here's the question: why does the Republican Party recruit and promote so many closeted gay men?  —  I came to the question …