Petraeus 'Betray Us' ad is group's 'shock and awe'  —  MoveOn.org was looking to get attention and so they have with their full-page New York Times ad in which they slam Gen. David Petraeus, rhyming his name with "betray us."  It's the liberal group's version of shock and awe.

Petraeus Falsely Claims That Six Months Ago, 'No One Would Have Forecast' Anbar's Success  —  Today in his testimony to the House, Gen. David Petraeus cited the reduced violence in the Anbar province as evidence that President Bush's "surge" is working.  He added that it would be "premature" …

Second Bin Laden Tape Expected  —  Brian Ross Reports:  —  A second tape from Osama bin Laden was recorded in the same location as the video released last week.  —  People in the intelligence community who have seen the tape feel it is directly related to the 9/11 anniversary since …

ARMY CHECKMATES THE NEW REPUBLIC  —  Last month Pajamas Media published an in-depth report on the scandal surrounding the "Baghdad Diarist" articles by Scott Thomas Beauchamp in The New Republic.  —  Now PJM's Bob Owens interviews Major John Cross, who led the U.S. Army's investigation into Private Beauchamp's shocking claims.

Thompson climbs in GOP poll  —  WASHINGTON — Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson has gotten a modest bump in support after finally announcing he's running for the Republican presidential nomination, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.  And Arizona Sen. John McCain may have started to turn around his beleaguered campaign.

Poll: 70% of Iraqis say that the US 'surge' has failed  —  General Petraeus is expected to testify on Capitol Hill today that the surge is working and that he needs more time.  However, both Congress and the American public are already skeptical about his evaluation, with a new CBS News …

Activists take Al Gore to task on his diet  —  He may be the hero of the environmental movement for his crusade against global warming but Al Gore is about to be targeted by animal rights activists over his carnivorous contribution to greenhouse gases.  —  Citing United Nations research …

PETRAEUS'S DRAWDOWN....This slide from Gen. David Paraeus's testimony today is a work of art, isn't it?  It looks like some kind of timeline for withdrawal, but all it actually says is that we'll withdraw five brigades by next July, something we already know is driven not by strategic considerations …

Hagel bows out of politics  —  Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) officially announced Monday that he will not run for a third term and does not plan to run for president in 2008, setting in motion a battle for his Senate seat and leaving anti-war Republicans and independents without one of their candidates of choice in the presidential contest.

IT'S CLASSIFIED?  —  We've been hearing a lot about improved security conditions in Iraq and Baghdad.  And there's been a lot of talk about percentage declines of deaths of one sort of another.  But one thing we're going to be listening for tomorrow and Tuesday is some actual data, some numbers.

COOKING THE BOOKS....Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Republicans are making a big mistake by spending all their TV time this morning complaining about accusations that Gen. Petraeus is cooking the books in his assessment of progress in Iraq?  Repeating the accusation …

Democrats Face Hobson's Choice  —  I must say that I sympathize with the bind that Democratic leaders are in somewhat.  Defeatism is forced upon them by their base.  That's why they have no choice but but to insist that Iraq is going disastrously badly, that it was all a mistake, and that we should get out now.