Sophisticated Attacks, but Al Qaeda Link Disputed  —  HONG KONG — They came wearing black hoods, firing automatic weapons and throwing grenades.  They took hostages and attacked two hotels, a movie theater, a café, a train station and other popular and undefended “soft targets.”  —  Who are they?

Things To Be Thankful For In A Troubled World  —  The war in Iraq is looking more and more like peace.  Afghanistan, while reportedly in flux and seeing more violence, is not the conflagration some reports suggest it is.  There have been 17 American military deaths in Iraq so far this month …

Good Time For a Brainy President  —  When I started covering the White House more than 50 years ago, I believed that the smarter a president was, the better he would be.  That was wrong.  —  Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan were certainly not intellectuals, but they understood the power …

Iraqi Lawmakers Extend Agreement With U.S. Military for 3 Years  —  The Iraqi Parliament on Thursday approved a security pact that charts the way for the U.S. military to end its presence in Iraq eight years after the invasion by a U.S.-led coalition led to the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Bush: ‘I will miss being Commander-in-Chief’  —  In his last Thanksgiving address in the White House, President Bush said Thursday that he will miss being the leader of the U.S. armed forces.  —  “During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom.

Russia to complete Iran nuclear plant in 2009 -Tass  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will complete Iran's first nuclear power plant in 2009, Itar-Tass news agency quoted the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation as saying on Thursday.  —  The launch of the Bushehr plant's nuclear reactor has frequently been delayed.

THE MORAL STAGE OF WALL STREET  —  Swiss bankers are not known as paragons of transparency and moral accountability, so it's a nice surprise to read that the top officials of UBS, the foundering financial institution recently bailed out by the Swiss government, will forgo twenty-seven million dollars in compensation and bonuses.

Sources: Al Qaeda Targets Amtrak N'east Corridor  —  Heightened Security Presence In Place At Penn Station; Attack Could Cripple Transit Between Boston, Washington  —  Cops, Feds Armed With M16s On Patrol For Forseeable Future  —  CBS News Interactive: America On Guard

MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT, UPDATE IX  —  The Coleman campaign has just issued the following press release that confirms the nightmare scenarios sketched out by John Fund in his Wall Street Journal column today: … It's hard to believe that Minnesotans will take kindly to having …