memeorandum: 'No magic switches to flip in Iraq,' ambassador says (Mark Silva/The Swamp)

10:50 AM ET, September 12, 2007

Top Items:

Two of Seven Soldiers Who Wrote 'NYT' Op-Ed Die in Iraq — NEW YORK The Op-Ed by seven active duty U.S. soldiers in Iraq questioning the war drew international attention just three weeks ago. Now two of the seven are dead. — Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance Gray died Monday in a vehicle accident …

Discussion: Think Progress, Horses Mouth, Debsweb, All Spin Zone and Shakespeare's Sister

The Nation:

Petraeus: I "Don't Know" If Iraq War Makes U.S. Safer — Did General David Petraeus today suggest that the war in Iraq may not make the United States safer? — During his second day of appearances on Capitol Hill, Petraeus this afternoon appeared before the Senate armed services committee.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Comments From Left Field, The Atlantic Online, QandO, D-Day, Connecting.the.Dots, All Spin Zone, Think Progress, INSTAPUTZ, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog and ePluribus Media Community

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

'No magic switches to flip in Iraq,' ambassador says — At the National Press Club this morning, after two arduous days of testimony on Capitol Hill, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker faced a roomful of reporters at a crowded press conference with Petraeus threatening another opening statement about his report.

Discussion: The Politico

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Officials Cite Long-Term Need for U.S. in Iraq

Discussion: Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC and DownWithTyranny!

Elana Schor / The Hill:
GOP centrists get boost

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots and No More Mister Nice Blog

Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
After two days, no answer to 'how this ends'

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Carpetbagger Report, Prairie Weather and Washington Post

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Clinton Sees Fear Realized in Trouble With Donor — Of all the possible vulnerabilities facing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, Mrs. Clinton has long believed that the one of the biggest was money, friends and advisers say. Some sort of fund-raising scandal that would echo …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, The Politico, Liberty Pundit, Sister Toldjah, Betsy's Page, Taegan Goddard's …, Blue Crab Boulevard, MSNBC, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Maggie's Farm

Wall Street Journal:

'60s Figure Says He Financed Donor Hsu — Where did Norman Hsu get his money? — That has been one of the big questions hanging over the prominent Democratic fund-raiser, as reports have surfaced about hundreds of thousands of dollars he made in political donations, plus lavish parties …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, The Swamp, Right Wing Nut House, Suitably Flip, Wizbang, Blue Crab Boulevard and Los Angeles Times

NY Daily News:

Team Clinton can't explain ignoring warnings on Hsu — WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton's campaign couldn't explain yesterday why it blew off warnings about felon-turned-fund-raiser Norman Hsu - and the Daily News learned FBI agents are collecting e-mail evidence in the widening scandal.

Discussion: Don Surber, michellemalkin.com, Liberty Pundit and JammieWearingFool

CNN:

Poll: Bin Laden tops Musharraf in Pakistan — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf — a key U.S. ally — is less popular in his own country than al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a poll of Pakistanis conducted last month by an anti-terrorism organization.

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Donklephant, Weasel Zippers and Central Sanity

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:
U.S.: Saudis Still Filling Al Qaeda's Coffers

Discussion: Think Progress, Angry Bear, michael linn jones, Jihad Watch and Weasel Zippers

The Independent:

The 'proxy war': UK troops are sent to Iranian border — British soldiers return to action as tensions between US and Iran grow — British forces have been sent from Basra to the volatile border with Iran amid warnings from the senior US commander in Iraq that Tehran is fomenting a "proxy war".

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org, Empire Burlesque, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Claremont Institute and The Raw Story

Kay S. Hymowitz / Opinion Journal:

Freedom Fetishists — The cultural contradictions of libertarianism. — More than perhaps any other American political group, libertarians have suffered the blows of caricature. For many people, the term evokes an image of a scraggly misfit living in the woods with his gun collection …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and alicublog

Reuters:

Fidel Castro says U.S. fooled world over 9/11 — HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said the U.S. government misinformed Americans and the world about 9/11, echoing conspiracy theories about the terror attacks against the United States six years ago.

Discussion: Sweetness & Light and JammieWearingFool

Jonathan E. Kaplan / The Hill:

Woolsey calls for attacks on colleagues — Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) is encouraging anti-war activists to find challengers to centrist Democrats, with the aim of moving the party to the left and ramping up opposition to the war in Iraq, to the chagrin of top Democratic aides.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Heading Right, The Politico, Hot Air, The American Street and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Los Angeles Times:

Giuliani support is soft in key battlegrounds, poll finds — Although former N.Y. mayor is GOP leader, a new Times/Bloomberg survey shows him trailing in three early states. Clinton maintains solid lead among Democrats. — WASHINGTON — "America's Mayor" Rudolph Giuliani has been well ahead …

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, CNN, Central Sanity, Pollster.com, Associated Press, Daily Kos, TalkLeft and MSNBC

Washington Post:
Giuliani's GOP Lead Shrinks in New Poll

Discussion: MSNBC, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside The Beltway, TIME and Los Angeles Times

Yoshiyasu Shida / Reuters:

Japan PM Abe quits after year of scandal and crisis — TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announced his resignation on Wednesday after a year in power dogged by scandals, an election rout and a crisis over Japan's support for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Redstate

Chisaki Watanabe / Associated Press:
Japan's prime minister says he'll resign

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard

New York Times:

Bush Nearing Choice to Lead Justice Dept. — The White House is closing in on a nominee to replace Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, with former Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson considered one of the leading candidates, administration and Congressional officials said Tuesday.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Law Blog and Hullabaloo

James Rosen / Fox News:

U.S. Officials Begin Crafting Iran Bombing Plan — WASHINGTON — A recent decision by German officials to withhold support for any new sanctions against Iran has pushed a broad spectrum of officials in Washington to develop potential scenarios for a military attack on the Islamic regime, FOX News confirmed Tuesday.

Discussion: The Agonist, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Comments From Left Field, Brave New Films blog, Stop The ACLU, News Hounds, Rising Hegemon, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Daily Pundit, Riehl World View and The Newshoggers

Daniel Engber / Slate:

Global Swarming — IS IT TIME FOR AMERICANS TO START CUTTING OUR BABY EMISSIONS? — Oh, if we all just disappeared. According to The World Without Us, Alan Weisman's strangely comforting vision of human annihilation, the Earth would be a lot better off.

Discussion: Pandagon, Feministe and The Atlantic Online