Karl Rove's Iraq war role  —  Karl Rove played a key role in the selling of the Iraq War, which may help explain why he's still bullish on the ultimate outcome, no matter how grim the news.  —  Bush and Rove announce the aide's resignation at the White House

Hamas fighters beat protesters after demo ban  —  GAZA CITY (AFP) - Baton-wielding Hamas fighters beat their political rivals in the Gaza Strip on Monday as they tried to prevent them from holding a protest after the Islamists banned unauthorised public gatherings.

Shocking Article On The State Of Islamic Science At Salon  —  I won't turn this into another long rant where I bore you all.  I'll just invite you to read it in full.  The subject of the interview obviously knows what he's talking about, and his opinions are important.

FOOLISH MYTHS ABOUT AL-QAIDA IN MESOPOTAMIA.  —  Over the past few months, I have been debating Roman Catholics who differ from their Eastern Orthodox brethren on the nature of the Trinity, Protestants who are willing to quarrel bitterly with one another about election and predestination …

Clinton: Strong, yes; likeable, maybe  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democrats consider New York Sen. Hillary Clinton the most electable candidate in the presidential field, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Monday afternoon.  —  Democratic voters polled in the new survey …

Random Rummy August Sighting  —  Starting a war must really wear a guy down.  —  Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was spotted today having lunch at Morton's on Connecticut Ave.  What was remarkable was not what he ordered, or with whom he dined, or how quintessentially condescending he may have been to the waiter.

Three Marks on the Horizon  —  Almost everyone (by now) must have heard about the "lazy" Iraqi parliament members who, like so many Neros fiddling while Rome burns around them, are taking a month off.  Yet comparatively few Americans will ever hear or read about IA Scorpion Company Commander Captain Baker …

Boot Interview  —  Last week we sat down for an interview with Max Boot, a regular contributor to this blog and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.  Mr. Boot talks about "How Not to Get Out of Iraq" (his article in the September issue of COMMENTARY), General Petraeus's September report, the war in Iraq, and more.

More Easily Debunked Beauchamp Fiction: It Never Ends (Update: Joke?)  —  Had it not been hidden behind the subscriber firewall, I would have found this example of The New Republic's unwillingness to fact check Scott Beauchamp long ago.  —  It is already widely know that in Beauchamp's second dispatch …

Skip Iowa Next Time  —  To revise the old Woody Allen line: Eighty percent of success is not showing up.  While Mitt Romney may have nominally "won" the Iowa Straw Poll over the weekend, the real victors were the ones who stayed away from Ames: Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, and Fred Thompson …

Piggish Prerogatives  —  There is lots of interesting stuff in the ether today, not the least of which is the fact that Rove is coming off the taxpayers payroll at long last, but I want to start you off with this little Media Matters gem from last Friday that absolutely floored me when I saw it.

ACLU Letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Requesting A Meeting on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act  —  Dear Mr. Attorney General:  —  Today, my staff was briefed by the Justice Department regarding guidelines to institute the new foreign to domestic wiretapping authority Congress granted …