Independent Voters May Give Obama Edge in Iowa  —  With two days before Iowans go to the polls, significant support for Sen. Barack Obama from political independents has put rival Democratic campaigns on edge, challenging the traditional model of the state's caucuses as a low-turnout exercise dominated by partisan insiders.

Kucinich Urges Supporters To Choose Obama On Second “Ballot”  —  On Thursday, Rep. Dennis Kucinich might actually swing the results of the caucus, which is why I'm passing this along.  —  Kucinich's supporters could help Obama in non-liberal precincts where the two or three Kucinich supporters …

Pak Govt makes U-turn on cause of Bhutto's death  —  In a dramatic U-turn, Pakistan government has “apologised” for claiming that former premier Benazir Bhutto died of a skull fracture after hitting the sunroof of her car during a suicide attack.  —  Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan …

Romney says Bush mismanaged Iraq war  —  JOHNSTON, Iowa (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Tuesday the Bush administration mismanaged the Iraq war, distancing himself from his party's unpopular president two days before Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential contest.

Edwards Calls for Quick Pullout of Troops Training Iraqi Forces  —  SIOUX CITY, Iowa — John Edwards says that if elected president he would withdraw the American troops who are training the Iraqi army and police as part of a broader plan to remove virtually all American forces within 10 months.

New Huckabee ad appeals to Christian conservatives  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - For the second time in the past two weeks, presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has aired a commercial in which a Christian symbol appears in the background.  —  In the campaign ad, Huckabee is addressing members …

Olmert says Israel must internalize divided J'lem  —  Israel needs to internalize that even its supportive friends on the international stage conceive of the country's future on the basis of the 1967 borders and with Jerusalem divided, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared to The Jerusalem Post.

‘Hikers’ killers were from Fatah'  —  The terrorists who gunned down two off-duty soldiers hiking near Hebron on Friday are both Palestinian Authority workers, and one of them is even a member of the official PA security forces, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service) revealed Tuesday night.

World's Top Surveillance Societies — Updated with link  —  Privacy International, a UK privacy group, and the U.S.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center have put together a world map of surveillance societies, rating various nations for their civil liberties records.

Loser of the year: Pelosi  —  “The war in Iraq is the biggest disappointment for us,” she said.  “I mean the inability to stop the war in Iraq."  —  Never bet against the American soldier.  King George III did.  He lost.  Jefferson Davis did.  He lost.  Hirohito did.  He lost.

An Account of Thompson's ‘Desire’ Question, From The Man Who Asked  —  Todd Chelf, the Iowa Republican who asked Fred Thompson the question about his desire to be president that launched this weekend's brouhaha, gave me his account of the question, the answer, and the aftermath.