Moment of Truth for the President  —  Will he reject disastrous advice to compromise with opponents of the war?  —  The New York Times leads today with David Sanger's story, "In White House, Debate Is Rising On Iraq Pullback; Political Considerations; Not Waiting For Sept. 15, Aides Seek to Forestall G.O.P. Defections."

U.S. Military Losses Hit 4,000 in Iraq, Afghanistan  —  Four thousand U.S. service members have died in U.S. President George W. Bush's ``war on terror'' in Iraq and Afghanistan 5 1/2 years after American forces ousted the Taliban in December 2001.  —  A total of 3,596 have died in Iraq since …

Syria Invades Lebanon  —  A few days ago Lebanese daily newspaper Al Mustaqbal quietly reported a limited Syrian invasion of Lebanon.  (Via Naharnet.) … This happened immediately before I left town for two days.  When I returned I was surprised to find no mention of this whatsoever anywhere else in the media.

US Iraq chief warns of long war  —  The head of US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades.  —  Speaking to the BBC's John Simpson in Baquba, Gen Petraeus said there was evidence …

U.S. leg of Live Earth hits key notes  —  EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The American leg of Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis, like the other concerts on all seven continents, proved to be as complex as the issue it is trying to solve.  —  As the anointed launch of a social movement …

Michael Moore demands apology from Wolf Blitzer  —  Michael Moore went off on Wolfie and CNN for a hit piece they aired about "Sicko" right before he came on.  He was hot!  He slapped the beard around pretty good...He says he'll post the facts refuting their claims on his website tonight.

Why Are Sections of that L.A Times Fred-Abortion Group Story Disappearing?  —  A couple of other thoughts on Fred and the abortion group:  —  Captain Ed notes that Fred Thompson registered as a lobbyist for a foreign agent in October 1991.  Did he register as a lobbyist for domestic clients at an earlier date?

Accused D.C. Madam Releases Phone Records  —  WASHINGTON — The phone records of the accused D.C. Madam have been posted online and are available for public viewing.  —  Deborah Jeane Palfrey's attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, tells WTOP he changed his plan of distributing the information …

Escalation Architect Kagan: 'Whatever You Can Say About The Current Strategy, It Has Not Failed'  —  Today, the American Enterprise Institute, a neoconservative think tank, held a discussion entitled "Assessing the Surge in Iraq," featuring prominent Iraq war proponents like Fred Kagan …

U.S. Envoy Offers Grim Prediction on Iraq Pullout  —  As the Senate prepares to begin a new debate this week on proposals for a withdrawal from Iraq, the United States ambassador and the Iraqi foreign minister are warning that the departure of American troops could lead to sharply increased violence …

USAT/Gallup Poll: Steady leads for Giuliani & Clinton  —  Fresh results from the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, parts of which are being released this hour:  —  • In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has a 10 percentage point lead nationally …

Hillary the inevitable  —  Obama strategist David Plouffe released a memo last week arguing that Hillary Clinton's advantages were essentially those of incumbency, that her support was thin, and that Obama should actually be considered the front-runner.  —  Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist …