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Political Web, page A1 … for 9:30 AM ET, December 15, 2005
Current Politics Page     Also:   Tech

Top Items:

Dexter Filkins / New York Times:
Split Between Secular and Islamist Parties Is Seen in Election  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 15 - Iraqi voters began streaming to the polls Thursday morning in nationwide elections as Iraqi leaders predicted that the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties and usher in lengthy political maneuvering.
RELATED ITEMS:
Gideon Long / Reuters:   Iraqis vote for first full parliament since Saddam
Reuters:
Sectarian Tensions Put Aside, Hopeful Iraqis Vote
Discussion: Winds of Change.NET
Telegraph:
Baghdad falls quiet as Zarqawi threatens poll
Discussion: Captain's Quarters
Washington Post:   Election Stakes Are Highest Yet in Iraq
Associated Press:
Ford will again advertise in gay publications  —  Ads resume after criticism from gay rights groups  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Advertisements featuring Ford Motor Co.'s eight vehicle brands will run in gay publications, the automaker said Wednesday, acting after gay rights groups complained when Jaguar and Land Rover pulled their spots.
Discussion: AMERICAblog
RELATED ITEMS:
Sholnn Freeman / Washington Post:
Ford to Advertise In Gay Press  —  Ford Motor Co. yesterday said it will resume advertising Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in gay-themed publications, following an outpouring of fury from gay groups that said Ford's recent decision to pull the ads fed anti-gay sentiment and emboldened enemies of gay rights.
Discussion: MyDD
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
House Defies Bush and Backs McCain on Detainee Torture  —  WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 - In an unusual bipartisan rebuke to the Bush administration, the House on Wednesday overwhelmingly endorsed Senator John McCain's measure to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of prisoners in American custody anywhere in the world.
Discussion: The All Spin Zone
RELATED ITEMS:
Washington Post:
House Supports Ban on Torture
Douglas Jehl / New York Times:
Senate Is Set to Require Details on Secret Prisons
Discussion: Nitpicker
B. Preston / JunkYardBlog:
Torture Torture Torture
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering  —  President Bush said yesterday he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges, as he offered strong support for several top Republicans who have been battered by investigations …
RELATED ITEM:
Adam Entous / Reuters:
Bush backs Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush offered strong endorsements on Wednesday to two architects of the Iraq war, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, and said he was as close as ever to top political adviser Karl Rove despite his role in the CIA leak case.
Discussion: firedoglake and Crooks and Liars
Ira Stoll / New York Sun:
Saddam's WMD Moved to Syria, An Israeli Says  —  Saddam Hussein moved his chemical weapons to Syria six weeks before the war started, Israel's top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom says.  —  The assertion comes as President Bush said yesterday that much of the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was incorrect.
Discussion: Unclaimed Territory
RELATED ITEM:
Times of London:
Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence  —  President Bush has admitted for the first time that his decision to go to war in Iraq was based on faulty intelligence.  But he still said that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein had been "the right one".  —  Mr Bush said that tomorrow's …
Mark Leon Goldberg / American Prospect:
The Arsonist  —  From our January issue: In his first six months at the UN, John Bolton has offended allies, blocked crucial negotiations, undermined the Secretary of State — and harmed U.S. interests.  We expected bad; we didn't expect this bad.  —  There is an excellent coffee shop …
RELATED ITEM:
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
House Votes to Revise, Extend Patriot Act, Angering Senators  —  The House voted 251 to 174 yesterday to renew the USA Patriot Act, setting up a confrontation over the revised anti-terrorism measure with a group of Democratic and Republican senators who say it would not go far enough to protect civil liberties.
RELATED ITEM:
David Espo / Associated Press:
House Approves GOP Priority Measures
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
In Four Speeches, Two Answers on War's End  —  As Bush Tries to Recast Debate, Definitions of Victory and Iraqi Security Diverge  —  As President Bush wrapped up a series of speeches on the war yesterday, he once again gave a clear answer to when U.S. troops would come home from Iraq …
RELATED ITEM:
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Columnist Says Bush Knows Who Leaked Name  —  Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who has repeatedly declined to discuss his role in disclosing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, said in a speech this week that he is certain President Bush knows who his mystery administration source is.
Financial Times:
Bush puts Rice in charge of reconstruction  —  President George W. Bush on Wednesday announced that the State Department would lead all US post-conflict reconstruction, a move that supersedes the controversial decision to give that task to the Pentagon in Iraq following the 2003 invasion.
Fox News:
Transcript: Bush Talks With Brit  —  This is a partial transcript of "Special Report With Brit Hume" from Dec. 14, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.  —  BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Mr. President, thank you for doing this.  —  GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, thanks.

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More Items:

Karl Vick / Washington Post:
Iran's President Calls Holocaust 'Myth' in Latest Assault on Jews
Jeffrey A. Dvorkin / npr.org:
NPR: Mysteries of the Organization, Part I
Discussion: mediabistro
Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:
House Panel Subpoenas Rumsfeld on Katrina
MEMRI:
Lebanon's Largest Government University Hosts …
Discussion: Solomonia and Jihad Watch
Mary Dalrymple / Associated Press:
Congress Runs Out of Time on Minimum Tax
Discussion: MyDD and Lean Left
Sheera Claire Frenkel / Jerusalem Post:
Exclusive: Sweden to cut Iran ties
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
Poll suggests Bush's free-fall appears to be over
Frank Phillips / Boston Globe:
Romney to announce he won't seek re-election

Earlier Picks:

Zogby:
Zogby Year-End Poll: Democratic Prospects Brighten Heading Into 2006 - GOP lags
BBC:
Fatah splits before key election
Discussion: Biased BBC
The Australian:
Now churches are targeted  —  FOUR churches in Sydney's southwest …
Agence France Presse:
Four dead in Gaza air strike
wral.com:
Religious McDonald's Sign Draws Attention In Raleigh
radioblogger.com:
Hugh V. L.A. Times' Michael Hiltzik
Allan Dowd / Reuters:
Don't dictate to me, Canada's Martin tells US
Jon / Reporting from Iraq:
The view from on the ground
Discussion: Argghhh! and Vodkapundit
 
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