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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

More Duplicity in the FISA Stampede  —  James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, the New York Times reporters who originally broke the warrantless domestic spying story, report further on the recent legislation gutting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

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)

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

THE NETROOTS' FOREIGN POLICY CALCULUS  —  Matthew Yglesias responds to Gideon Rose's critique of the netroots critique on the foreign policy community (discussed here).  The highlights: … After wading through all this, I'm somewhat sympathetic to Yglesias' point.

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.

Local Arrests in Newark Slayings  —  Man, Found in Md., Is Called Ringleader  —  A key suspect in the brutal killings of three college students in Newark was arrested early yesterday in Oxon Hill, where authorities found the 24-year-old Nicaraguan man among a group drinking beer …

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.