The Terrorism Index  —  Third Semi-annual, Nonpartisan Survey of Foreign Policy Experts from the Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy  — "U.S. Foreign Policy Experts Oppose Bush's Surge," Reuters, Aug. 20, 2007  —  In the third Terrorism Index, more than 100 of America's …

Lieberman Shrugs Off Failed Iraq Predictions, Now Claims 'Road To Victory' Goes Through Syria  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) writes today in the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. "road to victory" in Iraq goes through Damascus, and urges Congress to "send a clear and unambiguous message to the Syrian regime":

Petraeus To Testify Before Senate On September 11  —  The much-anticipated Senate testimony of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, regarding the situation on the ground in Iraq has now been scheduled for September 11th.  Petraeus' testimony will accompany a September 15 status report …

HOW THE NEW REPUBLIC GOT SUCKERED  —  When Pajamas Media heard the authenticity questions surrounding the "Baghdad Diarist" articles by Scott Thomas Beauchamp in The New Republic, we asked our Washington Editor Richard Miniter to look into how the respected opinion magazine could once again be the locus of such a scandal.

Bears eat man at beer festival  —  BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) — A 23-year old Serb was found dead and half-eaten in the bear cage of Belgrade Zoo at the weekend during the annual beer festival.  —  The man was found naked, with his clothes lying intact inside the cage.

CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE IN COVERAGE  —  A Quarterly Report of the PEJ News Coverage Index  —  MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE CAMPAIGN RISES, WAR COVERAGE FALLS, DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2007  —  The 2008 Presidential campaign—with its crowded field and accelerated timetable …

Democratic Rivals Caution Against Swift Iraq Pullout  —  The leading Democratic presidential contenders sounded a note of caution about a precipitous withdrawal from Iraq in a largely civil debate Sunday morning that also returned to the familiar themes of experience and electability.

Former Sen. Sam Nunn weighs run for White House  —  Sam Nunn left the U.S. Senate more than 10 years ago.  —  Since then, the Georgia Democrat, who made his name nationally as a defense-minded hawk, has watched what's happened to the country, and he's more than a bit ticked — at the …

Clinton backers see Warner — not Obama — as best V.P. choice  —  Anticipating that Sen. Hillary Clinton will clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, some supporters are beginning to argue against her choosing her principal rival — Sen. Barack Obama — for vice president.

Report: Vick agrees to plea deal, prison possible  —  (CNN) — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison, ending a federal dogfighting prosecution that jeopardizes his pro football career, a Virginia newspaper is reporting.

Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraqi villages  —  Iraqi Kurdish officials expressed deepening concern yesterday at an upsurge in fierce clashes between Kurdish guerrillas and Iranian forces in the remote border area of north-east Iraq, where Tehran has recently deployed thousands of Revolutionary Guards.

Rove Talks: If Mistakes Were Made, They Weren't His  —  Karl Rove says he feels like Moby Dick.  —  In a television tour of three Sunday morning shows as his departure from the White House nears, Mr. Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, complained that Democratic leaders …

BBC DROPS FICTIONAL TERROR ATTACK TO AVOID OFFENDING MUSLIMS  —  The BBC has dropped plans to show a fictional terror attack in an episode of Casualty to avoid offending Muslims.  —  The first show of the hospital drama's new series was to have featured a storyline about an explosion caused by Islamic extremists.

Thompson loses press aide  —  Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting suffered another departure last week, as spokeswoman Burson Snyder tendered her resignation, according to sources close to the campaign.  Snyder follows a handful of other Thompson aides out the door as the organization struggles …

AP: Pain medicine use has nearly doubled  —  MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - People in the United States are living in a world of pain and they are popping pills at an alarming rate to cope with it.  —  The amount of five major painkillers sold at retail establishments rose 90 percent between 1997 and 2005 …

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Former madam is 'big fan of Hillary'  —  Clinton camp has no response  —  Former Hollywood madam and current rural Nevada small businesswoman Heidi Fleiss was turned away from Hillary Clinton's appearance in Pahrump last week, but she doesn't hold a grudge.

Vladimir Putin rewrites Russia's history books to promote patriotism  —  Critics are accusing President Vladimir Putin's government of a Soviet-style rewriting of Russian history with a series of new "patriotic" textbooks to be unveiled in the new school year.

An Interview With Robert Novak  —  On Friday of last week, I did a telephone interview with Robert Novak about his book, The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington.  What follows is the transcript of our interview (Note: This interview has been edited slightly to correct grammar and for brevity's sake.)