HOAGLAND, NOT WHACKED  —  Perhaps there's something wrong with me.  But Jim Hoagland's column in Friday's Post seems remarkably lucid and well-reasoned.  I'd quibble with a few points.  There are a few others where I don't know the details well enough to judge.

Top general to urge Iraq troop cut  —  Advice by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs poses a potential clash with supporters of the buildup.  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half …

Okay, it's admittedly not hard to have fun at Joe Lieberman's expense, but this one's too good to pass up.  —  This morning Lieberman and his chief flack Marshall Wittmann put out a press release containing Lieberman's usual attacks on Democrats over Iraq.  The duo faulted "Congressional critics" …

Fox-Backed Democrat Debate Called Off  —  Sept. 23 Debate Will Not Be Held; Major Candidates Had Been Planning To Skip  —  (AP) Fox News and a black political group say they will not hold a Sept. 23 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, which the leading candidates already were planning to skip.

THE SURGE....Is the surge working?  That is, even if you ignore the lack of political progress, are we even making tactical progress?  Since violence in Iraq tends to be seasonal, the only reasonable comparison is one between summer 2006 and summer 2007, so I went to the latest Brookings Iraq Index to check out the most recent numbers.

The BBC has squandered trust.  But we will win it back  —  Only the deluded would deny that public faith has been gravely damaged.  To repair it, we must build on existing values  —  'We have had no end of a lesson; it will do us no end of good.  " That was Kipling's verdict on the British and the Boer war.

Arizona School Suspends 13-Year-Old Boy for Drawing Gun  —  MESA, Arizona — Officials at an Arizona school suspended a 13-year-old boy for sketching what looked like a gun, saying the action posed a threat to his classmates.  —  The boy's parents said the drawing was a harmless doodle and school officials overreacted.

More Iraqis Are Said to Flee Since Troop Increase  —  The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes has soared since the American troop increase began in February, according to data from two humanitarian groups, accelerating the partition of the country into sectarian enclaves.

Suck On This  —  The significance of Friedman's "Suck On This" isn't simply his buffoonery and that of our entire media discourse.  I don't imagine that Charlie Rose is playing on every teevee in Iraq, but even the liberal Tom Friedman was channeling what was a pretty common sentiment at the time …

Quebec police admit they went undercover at Montebello protest  —  Quebec provincial police admitted Thursday that three of their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators during the protest at the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Que.  —  However, the police force denied allegations …

War on Terror Update  —  War on Terror Confidence Inches Up in August  —  Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans now believe that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror.  That's up three points from a month ago and just a point shy of the highest level of confidence measured in 2007.

Arizona's Rep. Rick Renzi to Retire  —  WASHINGTON — Three-term Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican facing a federal inquiry into his family's insurance business, said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year.  Renzi becomes the fifth GOP House member in recent weeks to announce retirement plans …

ABA Urges Sentencing Commision to Make Crack Cocaine Penalty Reductions Retroactive  —  A few faces of past clients flashed in front of me as I read the letter the ABA has sent to the U.S. Sentencing Commission (available here) urging that their planned reduction of crack cocaine penalties be made retroactive.

FBI's release of ferry passenger photos resented  —  For Arabs and Muslims across the Puget Sound area, a rise in the nation's threat level or a bombing halfway around the world often can mark a period of unease.  —  In the years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, leaders in that community …