McCain seems confused about al Qaeda again, suggests it's a 'sect of Shi'ites.'  —  During today's hearing with Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) questioned Petraeus on what he called “the major threat” of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Surprising Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops  —  American Soldiers Speak Out About Their Presidential Endorsements  —  ABC's Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates.

Obama Catching Up With Clinton In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; She's Losing Ground Even Among Women  —  Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is catching up with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary and now trails 50 - 44 percent among likely primary voters …

Iraq: Al-Mahdi army offers to lay down its arms  —  Iraq's largest and most dangerous militia will voluntarily disband if Shia scholars advise its leader to do so, officials said yesterday — a dramatic move that could quell much of the fighting in the war-torn country.

Shift at Top May Mean Shift in Tone for Clinton  —  WASHINGTON — “This isn't exactly what I was planning on when I woke up this morning,” Geoff Garin e-mailed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after a hasty weekend shake-up left him atop her campaign's strategy team.  —  Mrs. Clinton answered his dry humor in kind.

The Sin of Speaking Truth  —  YET ANOTHER Democratic adviser is in trouble for having more common sense that his candidate — or at least, more than his candidate has the courage to admit having.  —  First there was Austan Goolsbee, Sen. Barack Obama's economic adviser …

FBI Data Transfers Via Telecoms Questioned  —  When FBI investigators probing New York prostitution rings, Boston organized crime or potential terrorist plots anywhere want access to a suspect's telephone contacts, technicians at a telecommunications carrier served with a government order can …

Rush & Molloy: Bio - McCain swore oath at wife  —  Sen. John McCain's defenders are blasting a new biography that claims the White House hopeful once hurled the most vile of epithets at his wife, Cindy.  —  Democratic strategist Cliff Schecter claims in “The Real McCain” …

Builders of Nations  —  “This is my hardest deployment,” Marine Sergeant Cooley said as he unfastened his helmet and tossed it onto his bed.  “We weren't trained for this kind of thing.”  He's been shot at with bullets and mortars, and he's endured IED attacks on his Humvee …

A Tale of Three Lawyers  —  On Thursday in the National Press Club in Washington, a crowd gathered to witness the presentation of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling to Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz.  The story of Matthew Diaz was chronicled in this space repeatedly (also here and here).

Obama Vs. Rice  —  Given this speculation, an interesting dialogue on tyranny and terror and military action in the Senate in January 2005 between Condi and Barack.  Dug up by Jed Lewison.  I take Rice's points, and made some of them myself.  But there seems little doubt whose judgment looks sounder in retrospect.

Iraq War Attitudes Politically Polarized  —  Republicans generally favor the war; Democrats oppose it  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans reject the idea of a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, by a better than 2-to-1 margin, 65% to 32%.  Democrats show an even greater margin …