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 …

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 …

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.

The Giuliani Doctrine  —  Rudy Giuliani's Foreign Affairs essay really is a bit of a revelation.  To understand it, I think you need to understand the broader context of the political dilemmas he's facing.  One is the simple dilemma all the Republican contenders face …

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 …

Back to School for The GOP  —  In the past few years, Democrats have gotten pretty good at mimicking Republicans.  They've been training college activists, establishing think tanks and, more generally, trying to turn their party into a movement — just what conservatives did during their years in the pre-Reagan wilderness.

The GOP - The Party To Kill For...  It appears Susan Collins doesn't want to risk having a career ending blooper, like George "Macacca" Allen.  One of her supporters posted this yesterday on the Maine Web Report: … Yes, civil discourse and clean campaign tactics are clearly the hallmark of the Collins' team, aren't they?

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.

Online Islamist Forum Hosted in Texas Posts Guide for Kidnapping Americans  —  The popular Islamist-jihadist forum www.alhesbah.org, hosted by RealWebHost in Texas, U.S., recently posted an anonymously written document from 2003 titled "The Excellent Summary of the Rules of the Art of Kidnapping Americans."

Democrats Need a Karl Rove  —  What follows here is an op-ed I wrote for The Hill newspaper today that makes the case for Democrats to adopt a conviction politics of principle, courage and tenacity.

Exclusive: U.S. Studying Two Dozen 'Clusters' of Possible Homegrown Terrorists  —  Brian Ross, Richard Esposito & Maddy Sauer Report:  —  U.S. law enforcement officials say they have identified more than two dozen "clusters" of young Muslim men in the northeast United States who are on a path …

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.