How Petraeus Moved The Debate, Literally  —  How far has General David Petraeus moved the debate on Iraq?  His testimony on the surge, and the effects of the surge itself, has made it much more difficult for Democrats to argue for withdrawal and defeat.  In fact, at last night's debate …

Transcript Reveals Impeachable Offenses by Bush Re: Iraq War  —  El Pais published a transcript (reprinted at this link) of the conversation between George W. Bush, Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, and Condoleeza Rice held at Crawford before the Iraq War.  Bush is typically bullheaded, impatient …

HILLARY'S TORTURE  —  Hillary Clinton flip-flopped on torture last night (and slapped Bill upside the head while doing it), saying, "As a matter of policy it cannot be American policy, period."  —  That's quite emphatic, but in October, she had quite a loophole, and she explained it in depth …

Bin Laden may have just escaped U.S. forces  —  August mission in Tora Bora almost snared 'high value target'  —  A little more than a month ago, with the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching and fears of a new al Qaeda attack rising, some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought …

U.S. fire scatters crowd after Afghan bomb: witness  —  BATI KOT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least one U.S. soldier opened fire to scatter a crowd of civilians and police on Thursday after failed suicide bomb attacks on a U.S. military convoy, the U.S. military and witnesses said.

Obama's wife makes stop in Q-C  —  Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, had to cut her Wednesday visit to the Carriage Haus in downtown Davenport short.  —  Even though her husband and other Democratic candidates for president were debating one another in New Hampshire and Michelle …

Documents point to S.C. terror plot  —  Explosives materials in car  —  In a 12-minute video posted on YouTube, an Egyptian man wearing a white shirt, khaki pants and rubber gloves explains in Arabic how to turn a toy boat into a bomb.  —  His name is Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed …

With U.A.W. Accord, G.M. Looks to a New Detroit  —  For a generation, executives at the Detroit auto companies have complained that the huge cost of providing generous benefits for its unionized workers put them at a competitive disadvantage with surging foreign car companies like Toyota and Honda.

GALLUP: Trust in Federal Government, On Nearly All Issues, Hits New Low — Even Less Than in Watergate Era  —  NEW YORK A new Gallup poll reveals that, as the organization puts it, Americans now "express less trust in the federal government than at any point in the past decade …

They "Have Our Backs", Or At Least Aren't Stabbing Us There  —  Following the condemnation of the MoveOn ad by the House and Senate the Mighty Kos of the Nutroots compiled a list of those Democrats who "we can trust to have our backs".  All the rest, we are advised, are "a fair-weather friend, at best".

Scientists Feel Miscast in Film on Life's Origin  —  A few months ago, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins received an e-mail message from a producer at Rampant Films inviting him to be interviewed for a documentary called "Crossroads."  —  The film, with Ben Stein, the actor …

Army is worn too thin, says general  —  Calls force not ready to meet new threats  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates (left) and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Peter Pace at a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday.  (MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES)  —  WASHINGTON - The Army's top officer …

What are 'Hollywood values'?  —  If it's all about free love and hating America, how come there aren't many openly gay stars or pro-jihadi movies?  If it's all about the almighty dollar, how come Hollyweirdos disproportionately back the party that wants to tax them more?

Hate-Crime Provision Clears Senate  —  The Senate voted today to extend federal hate-crime protection to people victimized because of their sexuality, but it remained doubtful that the measure would ever become law.  —  By voice vote and without dissent, the senators attached the hate-crime provision …

In a 9/11 Survival Tale, the Pieces Just Don't Fit  —  Tania Head's story, as shared over the years with reporters, students, friends and hundreds of visitors to ground zero, was a remarkable account of both life and death.  —  She had, she said, survived the terror attack …