memeorandum: Pakistan: al-Qaida behind Bhutto assassination (MSNBC)

5:10 PM ET, December 28, 2007

Top Items:

Pak govt reveals how Benazir was killed — New Delhi: Mystery shrouds the death of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. In an explosive revelation, Pakistan's Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz on Friday said that Bhutto did not die of bullet wounds. — Nawaz said that Bhutto died from a head injury.

Discussion: CNN, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice, Confederate Yankee, Washington Post, The Seminal, Firedoglake, Little Green Footballs, New York Sun, McClatchy Washington Bureau, TPMmuckraker, Agence France Presse, Macsmind, Wonkette and The Strata-Sphere

Ralph Peters / New York Post:

THE BHUTTO ASSASSINATION: NOT WHAT SHE SEEMED TO BE — FOR the next several days, you're going to read and hear a great deal of pious nonsense in the wake of the assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. — Her country's better off without her.

Discussion: Reuters, Captain's Quarters, Weekly Standard, New York Times, Real Clear Politics, Unqualified Reservations, The Huffington Post, A Blog For All, BitsBlog and Fausta's blog

Lynn Sweet:

Obama says, “No, I, I, I, I, I have to, I heard, I heard, I don't need it, I don't need to hear what you read because I was, I overheard it when he said it." — DES MOINES, IA.—The Obama campaign faced a distraction on Thursday after some news outlets ran stories suggesting chief Obama …

Discussion: The Washington Note, TalkLeft, Taylor Marsh and The Democratic Daily

Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
Not Your Average Harvard Feminist

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Matthew Yglesias:
Don't Cry for Me, Pakistan — Clearly, political assassinations are a bad thing.

Discussion: The Washington Note and TalkLeft

Times of London:
Bhutto ‘died after hitting head on car roof’, Pakistan government claims

Discussion: NEWS.com.au, The Huffington Post and The Daily Background

Telegraph:
Row breaks out over Benazir Bhutto's death

Discussion: ABS-CBN News, Counterterrorism Blog, Early Warning and Blogs of War

MSNBC:
Pakistan: al-Qaida behind Bhutto assassination

Discussion: Weekly Standard, CNN, CANOE and Reuters

CNN:
U.S. suspects Taliban leader behind Bhutto plot

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, New York Times, The Newshoggers, Reuters, Washington Post, Cheat Seeking Missiles, New York Post, Commentary, Gothamist and The Daily Dish

Michael Yon:

News flash for Osama bin Laden — Here's a news flash for Osama bin Laden, who earlier today released a call " to guerrilla forces in Mesopotamia. “ — I have directly observed how more and more Iraqis have grown to hate al Qaeda as much as Americans do.

Discussion: Flopping Aces

Telegraph:

Text of alleged al-Qa'eda phone call — Pakistan has blamed al-Qa'eda for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. — Here is a translation of the transcript of the alleged telephone conversation from senior al-Qa'eda leader Baitullah Mehsud to another militant said to have been intercepted after the assassination.

Discussion: QandO and Say Anything

Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:
New bin Laden Video on Islamic State of Iraq (Update: bin Laden MURDERED?)

Discussion: Danger Room, Hot Air and Flopping Aces

Dan Gearino / Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier:

New Lee poll: Edwards moves into 3-way tie — A new Iowa caucus poll from Lee Enterprises newspapers shows the Democratic race is a virtual three-way tie, with John Edwards rising to tie Barack Obama for the lead and Hillary Clinton rising to just one point behind.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, TalkLeft, Open Left, MyDD, Pollster.com and TPM Election Central

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Edwards reaches new heights in Iowa — DES MOINES, Iowa — John Edwards appears to have risen to a new high point in Iowa, marking an upward trend over the past two weeks that places him in a statistical tie with Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

Discussion: The Swamp, Political Machine, TIME and AMERICAblog

Kate Snow / ABCNEWS:
Obama, Clinton Battle for Iowa TV Commercial Time Night Before Caucuses

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

Martin Kady II / The Politico:

Dems protest Bush's surprise veto of defense bill — At the behest of the Iraqi government, President Bush will veto the annual defense authorization bill, saying an obscure provision in the legislation could make Iraqi assets held in U.S. banks vulnerable to lawsuits.

Discussion: Associated Press, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, The Swamp, The Carpetbagger Report and Hullabaloo

USA Today:
Reports: Bush to veto defense bill

Discussion: The Gavel, Think Progress, michellemalkin.com and Daily Kos

David Stout / New York Times:
Bush to Veto Pentagon Funds Over Iraq Provision

Discussion: Rook's Rant and Debsweb

Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:

Be Reasonable — As Iowa sizes up the candidates, so do I. — By next week politically active Iowans will have met and tallied their votes. Their decision this year will have a huge impact on the 2008 election, and a decisive impact on various candidacies. Some will be done in. Some will be made.

Discussion: Firedoglake, TBogg, Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report, Hullabaloo, Outside The Beltway, If I Ran the Zoo, Macsmind, Blue Crab Boulevard, Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Peggy Noonan is a serious “grown-up”

Discussion: Weekly Standard, protein wisdom, Sadly, No!, Prairie Weather, Eschaton and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Marc Santora / The Caucus:

New Ads: Romney Attacks McCain; McCain Touts Support — Mitt Romney, waging a two-front battle to stave off challengers in both New Hampshire and Iowa, unleashed a television advertisement critical of Senator John McCain on Friday. — Mr. McCain has been gaining ground on Mr. Romney in New Hampshire …

Discussion: The Swamp, Marc Ambinder, The Trail, SCHotline Press Releases, Washington Wire, TIME and Hotline On Call

John Dickerson / Slate:
A SNEAK PREVIEW OF JOHN MCCAIN'S SECRET ANTI-ROMNEY AD.

Discussion: The Politico, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report, TPM Election Central and The Page

National Review:
Misled in New Hampshire — John McCain's aides complain …

Discussion: TownHall Blog and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:

Giuliani Campaign Official: Rudy Is The Only Candidate Who Can Chase “The Muslims"..."Back Into Their Caves" — From the Guardian UK via TPM: (h/t SteveAudio) — Winning hearts and minds the world over... John Deady, Co-Chair for New Hampshire's Veterans for Rudy:

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Gun Toting Liberal™, PERRspectives Blog, ThePoliticalCat, Left in the West, Connecting.the.Dots, Guardian, PrezVid, Cliff Schecter, Brilliant at Breakfast and Gawker

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Rudy Campaign Official: He's The Guy To Chase “The Muslims” Back “To Their Caves”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report, Shakespeare's Sister and Wonkette

New York Times:

Huckabee Sees Pakistan as Reason for Border Fence — DES MOINES — Mike Huckabee used the volatile situation in Pakistan Friday to make an argument for building a fence on the American border with Mexico and found himself trying to explain a series of remarks about Pakistanis and their nation.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, THE REACTION, Riehl World View and Feministe

Bloomberg:

France Bans Smoking in Cafes, Clubs, Rejects Sartre's Gauloises — Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — France bans smoking in cafes, hotels and clubs on Jan. 1, stamping out the habit popularized by Jean- Paul Sartre puffing Gauloises in hazy brasseries. — In Germany, 11 of the country's 16 states plan similar restrictions for 2008.

Discussion: Samizdata.net

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard:

Pelosi, Reid, Huckabee, Obama Among Nation's “Most Corrupt” — Judicial Watch has named its ten most corrupt political figures of 2007, and the list may surprise. It includes a number of very well-known politicians who have received little attention for their questionable business deals.

Discussion: Power Line, Stop The ACLU, Flopping Aces, Say Anything and Wizbang

Don Frederick / Los Angeles Times:

Clinton's “don't ask” policy — As she races through Iowa in the days before next week's caucuses, Hillary Clinton is taking few chances. She tells crowds that it's their turn to “pick a president,” but over the last two days she has not invited them to ask her any questions.