memeorandum: The Iowa Debates — Tune In and Talk Back (ABCNEWS)

The War as We Saw It — VIEWED from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Informed Comment, Daniel W. Drezner, SWJ Blog and TIME: Swampland

Sally Buzbee / Associated Press:

Shiite militia expands grip in Baghdad — BAGHDAD - The street market bustles in the early mornings and late afternoons as shoppers come out to buy fruit, bread, clothes and toys. Late into the hot summer nights, whole families gather to eat grilled kebabs at tiny stalls, their small children shrieking as they play tag.

Discussion: The Newshoggers

Washington Post:

How Rove Directed Federal Assets for GOP Gains — Bush Adviser's Effort to Promote the President and His Allies Was Unprecedented in Its Reach — Thirteen months before President Bush was reelected, chief strategist Karl Rove summoned political appointees from around the government to the Old Executive Office Building.

Discussion: Pottersville, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Outside The Beltway, First Draft, Prairie Weather, Greenlee Gazette and McClatchy Washington Bureau

ABCNEWS:

The Iowa Debates — Tune In and Talk Back — ABC News Hosts Republican and Democratic Debates Aug. 5 and Aug. 19 — Welcome to the online home of ABC News' Democratic debate, the second of two presidential debates held this month on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Discussion: Political Radar

The Corner:

The Muslim Jesus Cont'd — Some interesting emails for late on a Saturday night. Here are a bunch, but I'll hide most of 'em behind one of those more links: … And: … And: … And, from my Middle East Guy: — Keep reading this post . . .

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

A Deadly Clash at Donkey Island — On a Routine Night Patrol Near Ramadi, U.S. Troops Stumble Upon a Camp of Heavily Armed Insurgents Poised to Retake the City — Staff Sgt. Norman Stark had never seen combat. Nor did the 32-year-old soldier from Baltimore expect it …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Blue Crab Boulevard and Eunomia

Atrios / Eschaton:

Is Tom Friedman a Bad Person? — All signs point to "pretty hideous human being, one which all good people should shun."

Discussion: Hullabaloo, PSoTD and Obsidian Wings

New York Times:

2 Firefighters Killed in Blaze at Ground Zero — Two firefighters were killed yesterday battling a blaze in the Deutsche Bank skyscraper, a vacant relic of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack that was in the process of being dismantled. — The firefighters were among hundreds who poured …

Discussion: A Blog For All and TPMCafe blogs

BREITBART.COM:

Climate protest 'will be contained' — Police were confident of being able to contain the expected climax of the climate camp at Heathrow Airport. — Protesters, buoyed by an influx of new arrivals, promised 24 hours of direct action, starting from midday on Sunday.

Discussion: BBC and Little Green Footballs

Katie Hafner / New York Times:

Seeing Corporate Fingerprints in Wikipedia Edits — Last year a Wikipedia visitor edited the entry for the SeaWorld theme parks to change all mentions of "orcas" to "killer whales," insisting that this was a more accurate name for the species. — There was another, unexplained edit …

Discussion: The RBC and MoJoBlog

Jamie Doward / Observer:

Terror law puts Britons at risk of surveillance by US agents — A new law swept through Congress by the US government before the summer recess is to give American security agencies unprecedented powers to spy on British citizens without a warrant. — The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act …

Discussion: RADAMISTO, The Democratic Daily, The Newshoggers, Cliff Schecter and ACLU

Carol Thatcher / Daily Mail:

How the BBC disgraced my mother — They've portrayed her as a drunk and axed a play that cast her as a heroine. Now they want to show her swearing like a trooper. — Here, Lady Thatcher's daughter Carol blasts back at the BBC — When it comes to separating fact from fiction …

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Van Der Galiën Gazette and Biased BBC

Ilan Goldenberg / democracyarsenal.org:

How to tell an expert from an "expert" — Matt and Gideon Rose are having a pretty interesting exchange regarding expertise and the Democratic foreign policy community. I completely agree with Matt when he writes … It's not that the entire VSP community is bad.

Discussion: Eschaton, RADAMISTO, Washington Monthly and The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Kathleen Geier / Ezra Klein:

Words of Wisdom — By Kathy G. — What Max said. — Adding, that the argument that Hillary shouldn't be the nominee because she's too "divisive" never made a lot of sense to me. I agree with Ezra that she probably wouldn't be the best choice for the nomination, because by temperament she's …