Report Cites Grave Concerns on Iraq's Government  —  The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki will become "more precarious" over the next six months to a year, and while its security forces have improved they are not strong enough to operate without outside help …

No More Vietnams (or Cambodias)  —  In his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars yesterday, President Bush reminded us of the agony and genocide that followed the American retreat in Vietnam: … These words summon to mind a powerful passage from the third volume of Henry Kissinger's memoirs …

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery: "To Build One America, End the Game"  —  Hanover, New Hampshire  —  August 23, 2007  —  This election is unlike any we have faced before.  The stakes are higher.  And the challenges we face as a nation are greater than at any time in memory.

NYC Muslim Calls Korean Hostages "Terrorists", Smiles at thought of Daniel Pearl Style Beheading  —  American Muslim convert and New York City native Yousef al-Khattab outdoes himself and compares the Korean hostages to "terrorists" and suggests that because they are guilty of the "crime" …

Obscure Company Is Behind 9/11 Demolition Work  —  The John Galt Corporation of the Bronx, hired last year for the dangerous and complex job of demolishing the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street, where two firefighters died last Saturday, has apparently never done any work like it.

What September Won't Settle  —  Come September, America might slip closer toward a Weimar moment.  It would be milder than the original but significantly disagreeable.  —  After the First World War, politics in Germany's new Weimar Republic were poisoned by the belief that the army …

Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining  —  The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal.  The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and streams.

Constitutionally Protected Chats?  —  From the AP: … The AP notes the court decision early this month that the FBI had wrongfully seized Constitutionally protected legislative materials from Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) office, which strengthens the House's refusal to turn over the computer.

Obama Girl has Hil thrill  —  Sen. Barack Obama's sexiest fan respects the presidential candidate more than ever now that he has knocked her Web video, "I Got a Crush on Obama."  But "Obama Girl"actually may vote for Hillary Clinton.  —  On Monday, Obama said he really wasn't that into Amber Lee Ettinger …

The Weimar President  —  His speech yesterday actually managed to shock.  You might think that, in wartime, a president would acknowledge what no one denies is a terribly grim decision in front of us - whether to pursue a clearly unwinnable war in order to govern a clearly ungovernable country …

Military Coup Planned for Iraq?  —  A rumor is circulating among well-connected and formerly high-level Iraqi bureaucrats in exile in places like Damascus that a military coup is being prepared for Iraq.  I received the following from a reliable, knowledgeable contact.

MANO A MANO: SPENCER V DERBYSHIRE  —  When Robert Spencer read John Derbyshire's "marvelously written and delightful to read" but "full of inconsistencies" review of his book, Religion of Peace?  —Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't, he promised Pajamas Media a response.  He has delivered.

Romney Struggles to Define Abortion Stance  —  Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said this week that as president he would allow individual states to keep abortion legal, two weeks after telling a national television audience that he supports a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure nationwide.

Bush hit over jobs for illegal workers  —  If President Bush is serious about getting tough on U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens, he can start with his own administration, which employs thousands of unauthorized workers, says the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee.

VDH Responds  —  The riposte is a little sad, really.  Hanson clearly favored an aggressive strategy that concentrated on shoot-to-kill aggression and opposed any increase in troops back in 2004; Petraeus, in contrast, was a stern critic of past efforts, wanted many more troops …