Top general may propose pullbacks  —  Petraeus is expected to tell Congress that Iraqis can assume duties in some areas, freeing U.S. troops for other uses.  —  WASHINGTON —  Intent on demonstrating progress in Iraq, the top U.S. general there is expected by Bush administration officials …

HMMMM EVEN LESS RIGHT.  —  From the previous post, reader Hoefer remembers and tracks down something veddy intahrezting … Here are the two pics and it sure looks like the same lady, and the same idiotic claim.  Heh. … Anyone know the photog or official agency and caption for this one?

Our newest war  —  [Our newest Patton.]  — by Dave  —  According to Newt Gingrich, we're now not just at war in Iraq, and at war against terrorists, but now we're also at war with illegal immigrants: … Gingrich is obviously trying, as have so many nativists before him, to blame immigrants for bringing crime to our shores.

A prelude to war: What's really behind Bush's Iran move  —  Last night's carefully managed leak from the White House that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is being designated as a global terrorist group is a story that — while in a sense you could see it coming for months — seemed to also catch a lot of the major news media off guard.

U.S. to Expand Domestic Use Of Spy Satellites  —  The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S.  —  The decision, made three months ago …

Balance of Terror  —  BAGHDAD - The American soldier sitting next to me flipped open his Zippo lighter and gloomily lit a cigarette.  "Do you know why this base isn't attacked by insurgents?" he said.  —  I assumed it was because his area of operations, in the Graya'at neighborhood …

Collins to Allen: Call off tracker  —  In a letter to Rep. Tom Allen made available to reporters Monday, Sen. Susan Collins' chief of staff called on the challenger to drop the practice of "tracking" Collins in her public appearances by using a videographer to record her movements and statements.

Hope on Climate Change?  Here's Why  —  In the field of environmentalism — where brows tend to be frozen in furrow and despair is a professional credential — Gregg Easterbrook of the Brookings Institution is notable for his optimism.  And one cause of his sunniness is smog in Los Angeles.

A newsroom reprimand at The Times  —  Seattle Times Executive Editor Dave Boardman wrote today in one of his morning notes to staff that there had been "an awkward moment at yesterday's news meeting."  That's the meeting where editors and other staff from throughout the newsroom talk about the stories planned for the next day's paper.

General calls Iraq massacre 'trademark al Qaeda'  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Truck bombings that killed and wounded hundreds in northern Iraq were a "trademark al Qaeda event" designed to sway U.S. public opinion against the war, a U.S. general said Wednesday.

Gibson: "The war on Gibson is real" and "it's pursued every day" … On the August 14 broadcast of his Fox News Radio show, John Gibson said he and the show's executive producer, known on the air as "Angry Rich," are "being attacked on a liberal website," referring to Media Matters for America.

Political impasse key to Iraq security  —  BAGHDAD — Despite U.S. claims that violence is down in the Iraqi capital, U.S. military officers are offering a bleak picture of Iraq's future, saying they've yet to see any signs of reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims despite the drop in violence.

Chávez to Propose Removing His Term Limits  —  President Hugo Chávez will unveil a project to change the Constitution on Wednesday that is expected to allow him to be re-elected indefinitely, a move that would enhance his authority to accelerate a socialist-inspired transformation of Venezuelan society.