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Congress To Hear Of Gains In Iraq — Petraeus, Crocker To Face Impatient Lawmakers — In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government …
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Gateway Pundit, New York Times, Jules Crittenden, Firedoglake, The Iraq Debate, The Huffington Post, The Opinionator, USA Today, Salon, Balloon Juice, democracyarsenal.org, abu muqawama, The Carpetbagger Report, JustOneMinute, TPMMuckraker, Air America Radio blogs, Political Radar, Macsmind, Comments from Left Field, Sister Toldjah, Wake up America, marbury and Connecting.the.Dots
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Secret US plan for military future in Iraq — A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq, passed to the Guardian, shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country. — The draft strategic framework agreement between the US …


Petraeus on the Hill; Dems can't control Code Pinkos; Idiot …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit and Wake up America

Watching the Iraq Hearings With Petraeus and Crocker
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The Swamp, New York Times, Wonkette, The Caucus, On Deadline, Danger Room and Veterans For America

Testimony by General Will Test Candidates for President
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The Swamp, The Crypt's Blogs, New York Times, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus and Politics Nation

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 …
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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.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Washington Post, NY Daily News, The Politico, Real Clear Politics, New York Post and MSNBC

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.
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ABC's big “surprise”: The actual troops don't want McCain — they want to come home
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Eschaton

4 US Troops Killed; Hundreds Flee Baghdad Clashes; Ayatollahs Decline to Ban Militia — 4 US Troops Killed; — Hundreds Flee Baghdad Clashes; — Ayatollahs Decline to Ban Militia — I am always astounded at the combination of unrealistic optimism and foolish gullibility …
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Associated Press, Washington Monthly, CNN, American Footprints, Corrente and And, yes, I DO take …
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Religious leaders tell al-Sadr to keep militia intact
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Daily Dish, The Strata-Sphere, Washington Monthly and democracyarsenal.org

Iraq: Al-Mahdi army offers to lay down its arms
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, QandO, Harry's Place, The Corner, Right Wing Nut House and Outside The Beltway


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” …
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The Huffington Post
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New Book: McCain Once Physically Attacked Fellow Congressman — Appearing on Fox News this past Sunday, Sen. John McCain attempted to turn his infamously combustible temper from an electoral liability into political strength. — “If I lose my capacity for anger, then I shouldn't be president …

The 10 Pieces of U.S. Infrastructure We Must Fix Now — No one can predict what bridge, levee or water main will fail next. But some problems are widely known, and work is long overdue. As PM's new special report makes blatantly clear, we need to begin rebuilding the nation's infrastructure somewhere.


LIBERALS AND THE SH*TPILE. — It's got to be a scary moment if you're a conservative. The economy is in a meltdown that can be directly traced to insufficient regulation. In other words, it's in meltdown because you suck at running it, and refused to listen to warnings that subprime loans required …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


Jay defends endorsement of Sen. Obama — Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., defended his decision to make an endorsement in the race for president during an interview with Gazette editors on Monday. — Rockefeller said some have criticized him for endorsing Sen. Barack Obama before the West Virginia primary in May.


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 …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs

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 …


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 …