Top Items:
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Deserting Petraeus — "The key to turning [Anbar] around was the shift in allegiance by tribal sheiks. But the sheiks turned only after a prolonged offensive by American and Iraqi forces, starting in November, that put al-Qaeda groups on the run." — Finally, after four terribly long years, we know what works.
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New York Times:
Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert — In rebuffing calls to bring troops home from Iraq, President Bush on Thursday employed a stark and ominous defense. "The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq," he said, "were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th …
Thomas B. Edsall / Huffington Post:
Strategists Agree: McCain's Only Option Is To Turn His Back On Bush — According to private conversations with political operatives from both parties, John McCain has no choice but to adopt a high risk strategy to revive his presidential bid, a double Hail Mary: Throw one stink bomb …
Discussion:
Prose Before Hos
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Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
The Implosion Of Senator John McCain (UPDATED)
The Implosion Of Senator John McCain (UPDATED)
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Austin American-Statesman
The Hill:
Key vote on the Iraq war keeps House GOP united — House Republican leaders largely kept their party together on the issue of Iraq last night, with only four members breaking with their party to support a withdrawal of troops by April. — Reps. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) and John Duncan, Jr. …
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Scarecrow / Firedoglake:
Michael Gerson's Moral Advantage — I'm not surprised that Michael Gerson, who reportedly coined Bush's Axis of Evil framing, would conclude that atheists are inherently incapable of answering the more interesting moral questions merely because they lack an objective basis for discerning good from evil …
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Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
What Atheists Can't Answer — British author G.K. Chesterton argued that every act of blasphemy is a kind of tribute to God, because it is based on belief. "If anyone doubts this," he wrote, "let him sit down seriously and try to think blasphemous thoughts about Thor."
Discussion:
The RBC
David Blair / Telegraph:
Musharraf declares war on Muslim extremists — President Pervez Musharraf pledged to combat Muslim extremists across Pakistan yesterday as furious crowds demonstrated against the storming of the Red Mosque and two suicide bomb attacks left six dead. — In a televised address to the nation …
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Atlas Shrugs
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Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Going All In? — It looks as if Pervez Musharraf has decided …
Going All In? — It looks as if Pervez Musharraf has decided …
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The Newshoggers
New York Times:
Defending an Iraq Strategy in a Race Against Time — Once again, President Bush tried today to buy more time for his strategy in Iraq, refusing to say when conditions there might allow him to begin the troop drawdown that he insists is his ultimate goal. — For now, at least …
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Victor Davis Hanson / City Journal:
The New York Times Surrenders A monument to defeatism on the editorial page — On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled "The Road Home," demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq. It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but "The Road Home" pulls it off.
Rocky Mountain News:
'Seismic shift' seen on oil, gas commission — Governor appoints conservationists, industry critic to panel — Gov. Bill Ritter fundamentally reshaped oversight of Colorado's oil and gas industry Thursday, adding conservationists and an industry critic to the nine-member Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
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The Huffington Post
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Hold Your Fire and Brimstone — Perhaps because no one else will do it, I want to offer a qualified defense of Sen. David Vitter, the socially conservative Louisiana Republican who faces a bit of a problem. — Vitter admitted Monday night to a "very serious sin in my past" …
Guardian:
Brown message to US: it's time to build, not destroy — Minister signals foreign policy shift ahead of PM's Washington trip — The first clear signs that Gordon Brown will reorder Britain's foreign policy emerged last night when one of his closest cabinet allies urged the US to change …
Times of India:
Christian activists disrupt Hindu prayer in US Senate — WASHINGTON: Christian activists briefly disrupted a Hindu invocation in the US Senate on Thursday, marring a historic first for the chamber and showing that fundamentalism is present and shouting in the US too.
Michael Luo / New York Times:
Democrats Lead in Raising Money Online — The Democrats have established a commanding and growing dominance over Republicans in securing contributions online, reshaping the fund-raising landscape heading into the 2008 elections. — Online donations are emerging as a cornerstone …
Melanie McDonaghon / Times of London:
The cry should go up in Europe: more babies, please — Of all the bogeys you might have thought well and truly nailed in the past decade or so, the population control movement seemed most obviously to have a stake through its heart. At a time when we - I mean, anyone over 35 …
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Samizdata.net