Top Items:

Did the President Declare "Secret War" Against Syria and Iran? — Washington intelligence, military and foreign policy circles are abuzz today with speculation that the President, yesterday or in recent days, sent a secret Executive Order to the Secretary of Defense and to the Director …
RELATED:

Report: U.S. Troops Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq — U.S. troops raided an Iranian consulate in northern Iraq late Wednesday night and detained several people, Iran's main news agency reported today, prompting protests from Tehran just hours after President Bush pledged to crack down on the Islamic Republic's role in Iraqi violence.
Discussion:
BBC, Right Wing Nut House, The Political Pit Bull, jules crittenden, Unclaimed Territory, New York Times, The Reaction, The Jawa Report, The Belmont Club, Riehl World View, The Impolitic, Right Voices, Attytood, The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, skippy the bush kangaroo, Polimom Says, Daily Pundit, State of the Day, TPMCafe blogs, Shakespeare's Sister, Israel Matzav and rubber hose

We're In Trouble — We're in big trouble. — Have a look at The Washington Note, whose latest begins like this: … If this is true, we're in very big trouble. Or, if the rumor was sparked by an order 'only' authorizing clandestine operations (or, worse, bombardment) as a form of provocation, this is serious stuff.

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq, Detain 5 (Update2) — Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members, a state-run Iranian news service said. — The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open …

Iranian officials detained in Iraq, U.S. official says … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. forces detained six Iranian officials for questioning in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, seat of the Kurdish regional government, an American official said Thursday. — But the official disputes accounts …


Senate opposition to Bush plan grows — Republican Hagel calls it 'blunder'; Democrats expect to pass resolution — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defends U.S. policy in Iraq at a Senate hearing on Thursday. — NBC VIDEO — Jan. 11: Congressional reaction to President Bush's Iraq plan …
RELATED:

The Mess at State — Members of the Senate intelligence committee, Republicans and Democrats alike, were alarmed last week that John Negroponte was leaving as director of national intelligence after less than two years to become deputy secretary of state. By way of explanation …

At least Bush wants to win — Bush sticks to his goal of winning in Iraq. The Democrats are just stuck. — AMERICANS ARE torn between two irreconcilable positions on the Iraq war. Some want the war to be a success — variously defined — and some want the war to be over.


Condi Gets Grilled on Escalation
Discussion:
Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The Carpetbagger Report and skippy the bush kangaroo


Report: Nuclear Explosion in Iran (UPDATE: 3 explosions) — A major explosion is being reported in the Iranian desert. It said to be a nuclear explosion. In the general area of one of Iran's nuclear testing sitees. — The alternative theory is that a UFO crashed.
RELATED:

U.S. troops raid Iranian consulate in Iraq, traumatize left-wing bloggers — I'm pretty sure emotional injuries are actionable under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Appearing for the plaintiffs: elite snowtrooper and Bronze Star winner Capt. Rick Greenwald Ellensburg, who, per Greg Tinti …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Ynetnews, TigerHawk, Lean Left, It Shines For All, Unfogged, Tammy Bruce and Ed Driscoll.com


Poll: Americans oppose Iraq troop surge — WASHINGTON - Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, according to a new poll that provides a devastatingly blunt response to President Bush's plan to bolster military forces there. — All sides in the Iraq debate …
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Think Progress, BobGeiger.com, Democratic Underground, Argghhh!, The Carpetbagger Report and Donklephant
RELATED:

Poll: 70 percent oppose more troops in Iraq — Only 35 percent of respondents believe going to war was the right call — WASHINGTON - Americans overwhelmingly oppose sending more U.S. forces to Iraq, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll that serves as a strong repudiation of President Bush's plan to send another 21,500 troops.


Georgia Democrat likes what he hears — Marshall praises Bush speech for emphasis on patience in Iraq — WASHINGTON - President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both need Jim Marshall. — He's a House Democrat who represents the kind of Republican-leaning district in the South …
RELATED:

J-DAMN — And so a major Associated Press claim in "Jamilgate" takes an apparently fatal hit. — According to Bill Costlow of CPATT (Civilian Police Assistance Training Team) in Baghdad, and as forwarded by Lt. Michael Dean of Multinational Corps-Iraq/Joint Operations Command Public Affairs …
RELATED:

Jamilgate non-bombshell: AP allegedly used pseudonym
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee, Ace of Spades HQ, Patterico's Pontifications, protein wisdom and NewsBusters.org

Mass Resignation at Carter Center — Quite a blow to America's worst former president today, as 14 members of the advisory board of the Carter Center resign en masse: Carter Center Board Members Resign Over Palestine Book. (Hat tip: Rednek.) … UPDATE at 1/11/07 9:18:47 am:
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Riehl World View, Washington Wire, The Jawa Report, It Shines For All and Viking Pundit


INSTANT REACTION TO THE "SURGE" SPEECH — Two survey organizations - CBS News and ABC/Washington Post - went into the field immediately after the Presidential address last night to gauge reactions among those at home. Both polls appear to show the same polarization in reaction …

Kingston: Americans Should 'Marry and Work Longer Hours' To Escape Poverty — Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) made headlines last month after complaining about Congress' new schedule that requires members to work five days a week: … Yet, last night, Kingston offered this advice to Americans living in poverty: work longer hours.

High Political Drama in the Senate — The Senate is boiling with excitement right now. For background, the Senate is proposing very weak earmark reform rules. In contrast, Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats implemented some very strong earmark rules in the lower chamber last week.