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Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Hawkish Democrat Calls for Iraq Pullout — WASHINGTON - One of Congress' most hawkish and influential Democrats called Thursday for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, sparking bitter and personal salvos from both sides in a growing Capitol Hill uproar over President Bush's war policies.
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
An Unlikely Lonesome Dove — In his 37 years in the military, John Murtha won two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a Combat "V," and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. As a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania for the past 31 years, he has been a fierce hawk, championing conflicts in Central America and the Persian Gulf.
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
Hawkish Democrat Joins Call For Pullout — GOP Assails Murtha's Demand to Leave Iraq — The top House Democrat on military spending matters stunned colleagues yesterday by calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, while many congressional Democrats reacted defiantly …
Discussion:
OxBlog, The Sideshow, Nitpicker, Wonkette, AMERICAblog, Air America Radio and The Democratic Daily Blog
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:Democrats Keep Shifting Towards Surrender
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Right Wing Nut House
Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS... The Honorable John P Murtha, D Pa, is concerned for me:
Discussion:
Don Surber, Instapundit.com, Hugh Hewitt, protein wisdom, The Mahablog, Gateway Pundit, The Carpetbagger Report, No End But Victory and TAPPED
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:Murtha's Anti-War Comments: A Turning Point In More Ways Than One?
New York Times:
Post Editor Foresees Possibility of Naming Leak Source — WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 - The executive editor of The Washington Post said on Thursday that if other reporters at the newspaper independently discovered the identity of Bob Woodward's confidential source in the C.I.A. leak case …
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Jim / Jim Lowney Photo:
Party Like It's 1999 — A little corvid out in Reno mentioned yesterday that the mad Aussie journo Tim Blair was back in the Big Apple. I hadn't smoked cigarettes and swilled Chardonnay with Mr. Blair since we covered the Axis of Ass during last year's Republican convention.
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Guardian:
Simon Tisdall and Ewen MacAskill — Iran is facing political paralysis as its newly elected president purges government institutions, bringing accusations that he is undertaking a coup d'état. — Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's clearout of his opponents began last month but is more sweeping …
Discussion:
>bt: Brain Terminal, protein wisdom, A Chequer-Board of Nights … and www.AndrewSullivan.com
Pew Research Center:
Changing Views of China — The Iraq war and continuing threat of terrorism have dramatically affected the way opinion leaders and the public look at potential threats from other countries. Four years ago, there was broad concurrence, if not a consensus, that China represented the greatest danger to the United States.
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ITV:
'Cheney is vice president for torture' — A former CIA director has exclusively told ITV News that torture is condoned and even approved by the Bush government. — The devastating accusations have been made by Admiral Stansfield Turner who labelled Dick Cheney "a vice president for torture".
James Glanz / New York Times:
Issuing Contracts, Ex-Convict Took Bribes in Iraq, U.S. Says — A North Carolina man who was charged yesterday with accepting kickbacks and bribes as a comptroller and financial officer for the American occupation authority in Iraq was hired despite having served prison time for felony fraud in the 1990's.
Dana Priest / Washington Post:
Foreign Network at Front of CIA's Terror Fight — Joint Facilities in Two Dozen Countries Account for Bulk of Agency's Post-9/11 Successes — The CIA has established joint operation centers in more than two dozen countries where U.S. and foreign intelligence officers work side by side …
Discussion:
Rantingprofs
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Phony Theory, False Conflict — 'Intelligent Design' Foolishly Pits Evolution Against Faith — Because every few years this country, in its infinite tolerance, insists on hearing yet another appeal of the Scopes monkey trial, I feel obliged to point out what would otherwise be superfluous …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Damien Cave / New York Times:
Vital Military Jobs Go Unfilled, Study Says — The military is falling far behind in its effort to recruit and re-enlist soldiers for some of the most vital combat positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new government report. — The report, completed by the Government Accountability Office …
Telegraph:
I took Saddam's cash, admits French envoy — By Francis Harris in Washington and David Rennie in Brussels — One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday.
New York Times:
SPEAKERS: U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DUNCAN HUNTER (R-CA) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE KAY GRANGER (R-TX) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GEOFF DAVIS (R-KY) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE CONAWAY (R-TX) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R-FL) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM TANCREDO (R-CO) — U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID DREIER (R-CA)
Discussion:
The New Republic, Brendan Nyhan, Simianbrain, Nitpicker, Main and Central and Talking Points Memo
BBC:
Dutch MP to make gay Islam film — A Somali-born Dutch MP who collaborated on the film that led to the murder of director Theo van Gogh has written a sequel, about Islam's attitude to gays. — Ayaan Hirsi Ali received death threats after her work on Submission, a film about Islam's treatment of women.
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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
In Loss for G.O.P., House Rejects Spending Plan — WASHINGTON, Friday, Nov. 18 - House Republican leaders were dealt a rare defeat Thursday as Democrats and 22 Republicans teamed up to kill a major health and education spending measure. — The 224-to-209 rejection of the $142.5 billion …
Discussion:
Eschaton
