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.

Speaking of sanctuary, where's ours?  —  At the funeral of Iofemi Hightower, her classmate Mecca Ali wore a T-shirt with the slogan: "Tell Me Why They Had To Die."  —  "They" are Miss Hightower, Dashon Harvey and Terrance Aeriel, three young citizens of Newark, New Jersey …

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.

British forces useless in Basra, say officials  —  When America's top commanders in Iraq held a conference with their British counterparts recently, Major General Jonathan Shaw - Britain's senior officer in Basra - was quick to share his views on how best to conduct counter-insurgency operations.

The day reality hit home  —  The writer Andrew Anthony was a committed member of the liberal left - until the attacks of 11 September, 2001.  A veteran of CND and Nicaraguan solidarity campaigns, he was astonished at the liberal left's anti-American reaction.

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

Dems Come out Swinging on Experience vs. New Vision  —  Senior Dems Put Obama's Resume in the Spotlight  —  The eight Democratic contenders for the White House meet for a debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on a special edition of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos".  (ABC NEWS)

FRANK RICH: He Got Out While the Getting Was Good  —  BACK in those heady days of late summer 2002, Andrew Card, then the president's chief of staff, told The New York Times why the much-anticipated push for war in Iraq hadn't yet arrived.  "You don't introduce new products in August," …

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 …

BBC forced to removed 'bastard' slur about Jesus from its website  —  The BBC has been forced to remove statements from its website referring to Jesus as a 'bastard'.  —  It is the latest in a string of offensive comments that BBC editors have allowed members of the public to post.

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 . . .

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.

Risks in a Muslim Reformation  —  Salman Rushdie, Thomas Friedman, Nicholas Kristof and Mansour al-Nogaidan are among the well-intentioned people who have called for an Islamic Reformation.  They should be careful what they wish for.  —  The Protestant Reformation did precede the things …

When the Issue Is War, Take Nothing for Granted  —  A front-page article 11 days ago prompted a flurry of e-mail accusing The Times of playing into what readers said were Bush administration efforts to gin up hostility toward Iran.  —  The article reported that attacks on American-led forces …

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 …