Security Before Politics  —  Since leaving my post as CIA director almost three years ago, I have remained largely silent on the public stage.  I am speaking out now because I feel our government has crossed the red line between properly protecting our national security and trying to gain partisan political advantage.

Jay Bybee's anonymous friends claim Bybee regrets his role in approving torture.  —  The Washington Post interviews a number of friends and colleagues of Jay Bybee, who anonymously tell the paper that the judge regrets writing the torture memos: … “On the primary memo …

CIA official: no proof harsh techniques stopped terror attacks  —  WASHINGTON — The CIA inspector general in 2004 found that there was no conclusive proof that waterboarding or other harsh interrogation techniques helped the Bush administration thwart any “specific imminent attacks,” …

Clinton, in Iraq, Blames ‘Rejectionists’ for Violence  —  BAGHDAD — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here Saturday morning for a one-day visit, delivering an American show of support for Iraq as it battles a sudden eruption of violence, in the wake of suicide bombings …

Founding Bloggers v. CNN: counternotice submitted; countdown to re-posting — or a lawsuit  —  Founding Bloggers, the conservative web site that had its video critical of CNN's reporting on a Chicago “tea party” removed by YouTube after the cable network sent a DMCA takedown notice, is not backing down.

Local Wars  —  David Kilcullen is a former officer in the Australian Army, a strategist and a scholar.  He is also an expert on counterinsurgency, or how to combat a rebellion, and one of the few brave souls who had the ear of people in the Bush White House and advised against the invasion of Iraq.

A Papaya Grows in Holyoke  —  “Tell him what happened with the sign,” Daniel Ross said to Angel Ortiz at the gate to Nuestras Raíces farm, 30 acres of vegetables, animals, and flowers on the banks of the Connecticut River in Holyoke, Massachusetts.  Ortiz, a strapping but shy 18-year-old …

At Whitman, A Protest Over Poet's Lifestyle  —  A group of seven congregants from Topeka, Kan., set up outside Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda yesterday to protest the sexual orientation of the poet for whom the school was named.  —  The police presence — 40 officers, five horses …

Barack Obama and the CIA: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?  —  If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself.

Telling the Truth  —  Let the hearings begin!  —  Some Democrats, from the White House on down, are pushing the idea of a “truth commission,” à la South Africa, to deal with the “harsh measures” used by the Bush administration in interrogating al Qaeda detainees.  Good.  Let's have lots of truthtelling.

Fatal new flu strain threatens Mexico, U.S.  —  MEXICO CITY/GENEVA (Reuters) - A new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico could become a pandemic, the World Health Organization warned on Saturday, as health experts tried to track the disease's spread.

Obama Tactic Shields Health Care Bill From a Filibuster  —  WASHINGTON — At the prodding of the White House, Democratic Congressional leaders have agreed to pursue a plan that would protect major health care legislation from Republican opposition by shielding it from last-minute Senate filibusters.