HILL: TERROR WOULD BE GOP BOOST  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday raised the prospect of a terror attack before next year's election, warning that it could boost the GOP's efforts to hold on to the White House.  —  Discussing the possibility of a new nightmare assault while campaigning …

Our troops have earned more time  —  The invasion of Iraq may be one of the worst foreign-policy mistakes in the history of our nation.  As tragic and costly as that mistake has been, a precipitous or premature withdrawal of our forces now has the potential to turn the initial errors …

Fmr Bush Iraq Envoy Helping Undermine Maliki  —  As Bush Voices Support for the Iraqi PM, Republican Lobbyists Aid Top Maliki Foe  —  Republican lobbyists with close ties to the Bush administration are aiding and supporting the efforts of an Iraqi opposition leader who is calling for the ouster of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

BREAKING: FIDEL CASTRO IS DEAD  —  My cellphone has not stopped ringing for the past ten minutes.  Various sources inform that an announcement will come within the next few minutes from the Cuban government on Cuban TV and media.  Stay tuned and we'll see if we've been manipulated once again …

Another Vietnam?  —  President Bush's analogy to Iraq is not inaccurate, just incomplete.  —  Ever since the mid-1970s, critics of American military involvement have warned that any decision to deploy armed forces abroad—in Lebanon and El Salvador in the 1980s, in Kuwait, Somalia …

Liberal blogger targets 'Bush Dog' Dems  —  A leading liberal blogger has declared political war against centrist Democrats - the latest move in an intensifying show of dissatisfaction with the Democratic Congress by the once-friendly blogosphere.  —  Matt Stoller, who blogs …

'To Old Times'  —  A toast to American troops, then and now.  —  Once I went hot-air ballooning in Normandy.  It was the summer of 1991.  It was exciting to float over the beautiful French hills and the farms with crisp crops in the fields.  It was dusk, and we amused ourselves calling out …

Scarborough OK With Wolf Equating Bushies With Nazis  —  Joe Scarborough prides himself on being an independent thinker.  Apparently that extends to not uttering a peep of protest, and indeed tending to concur, when a left-wing guest flatly accuses the Bush administration of using Nazi tactics to suppress democracy.

Historian: Bush use of quote 'perverse'  —  A historian quoted by President Bush to help argue that critics of the administration's Iraq policy echo those who questioned the U.S. effort to bring democracy to Japan after World War II angrily distanced himself from the president's remarks Thursday.

Vick case divides African-American leaders  —  NAACP rift reported over whether to support quarterback's reinstatement  —  The case against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has exposed a split within both the NAACP and the larger African-American community, as some activists condemn Vick's role …

CIA said to step up operations in Iran as hawks seek to tie Iraq bombs to Tehran  —  In an effort to build congressional and Pentagon support for military options against Iran, the Bush administration has shifted from its earlier strategy of building a case based on an alleged Iranian nuclear weapons program …

Haditha Investigator Urges Dropping of Marine's Case  —  An investigating officer has recommended that a Marine Corps general drop all charges against a Marine accused of murdering civilians in Haditha, Iraq, finding again that the 2005 shootings were "tragedies" but that the Marine did not violate the laws of combat.