US: Top al-Qaida in Iraq figure captured  —  BAGHDAD - The U.S. command said Wednesday the highest-ranking Iraqi in the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq has been arrested, adding that information from him indicates the group's foreign-based leadership wields considerable influence over the Iraqi chapter.

Spineless Sages  —  Top GOP Senators Only Talk Against the War  —  Anyone searching for the highest forms of invertebrate life need look no further than the floor of the U.S. Senate last week and this.  These spineless specimens go by various names — Republican moderates …

Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground  —  The White House faced fresh political peril yesterday in the form of a new intelligence assessment that raised sharp questions about the success of its counterterrorism strategy and judgment in making Iraq the focus of that effort.

Republicans Call Reid's Bluff  —  Harry Reid kept the Senate in business all night long as a way to publicize the fact that Republicans won't allow cloture on an amendment for retreating from Iraq.  For some reason, Reid apparently thought that this would somehow break the will of the Republicans …

R. Milhous Giuliani  —  With the same rootless confidence that causes people to ignore hurricane warnings, many social conservatives remain in denial about Rudy Giuliani's chances of winning the Republican nomination.  —  But with three debates and eight months as the Republican front-runner under his belt …

Papers Detail Industry's Role in Cheney's Energy Report  —  At 10 a.m. on April 4, 2001, representatives of 13 environmental groups were brought into the Old Executive Office Building for a long-anticipated meeting.  Since late January, a task force headed by Vice President Cheney …

White House Had Drug Officials Appear With GOP Candidates  —  White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help as many as 18 vulnerable Republican congressmen by making appearances and sometimes announcing new federal grants …

Christian Fantasy Genre Builds Niche Without Hogwarts, Muggles or Spells  —  Could the next Harry Potter be a devout Christian?  —  As the days tick down until Saturday, when a breathless world learns the fate of the teenage wizard, a new breed of fantasy fiction, with Potter-style stories, is emerging.

If We Don't Call Them Names, the Terrorists Win  —  After the terrorist near misses in London and Glasgow, British officials did the expected.  They raised their nation's threat-assessment level.  They weighed the balance between civil liberties and new, tougher security measures.

Greatest Living American Ignored  —  Today in Washington I was in the room as the greatest living American received a medal.  George W. Bush, Nancy Pelosi and others were present.  But will you ever hear this event occurred?  To judge from tonight's major network evening newscasts, perhaps not.

Gore's message loses bite  —  Decrease Increase -  —  Submit comment:  —  ONLY one week after Live Earth, Al Gore's green credentials slipped while hosting his daughter's wedding in Beverly Hills.  —  Gore and his guests at the weekend ceremony dined on Chilean sea bass - arguably one of the world's most threatened fish species.

Voters unhappy with Bush; Congress: Reuters poll  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most U.S. voters think the country is on the wrong track and remain deeply unhappy with President George W. Bush and Congress, but still feel good about their finances and optimistic about the future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Help Wanted: Peacemaker  —  The Iraqi Parliament is on vacation in August and our soldiers are fighting in the heat.  Something is wrong with this picture.