Top Items:
Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Violent Cycle of Revenge Stuns Iraqis — BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 23 — After a day of violence so raw and so personal, Iraqis woke on Thursday morning to a tense new world in which, it seemed, anything was possible. — The violence on Wednesday was the closest Iraq had come to civil war, and Iraqis were stunned.
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National Review:
Standoff in Iraq — The insurgency in Iraq has no military capability either to drive the United States military from Iraq or to stop the American training of Iraqi police and security forces — or, for that matter, to derail the formation of a new government.
Zeyad / Healing Iraq:
Samarra Attack, the Last Straw? Part 2 — Movement today was sparse. The government announced it a day off yesterday, while Sistani, the supreme religious Shi'ite authority, called for his followers to close their businesses for 7 days in mourning. Both he and Muqtada Al-Sadr have urged …
Bradley Graham / Washington Post:
U.S. Looks to Baghdad to Deal With Violence — Faced with a resurgence of sectarian violence in Iraq, the Bush administration took a largely wait-and-see posture in public yesterday while laboring behind the scenes to try to bolster Iraqi military forces and prevent the unraveling of negotiations on forming a new unity government.
New York Times:
Dubai Company Delays New Role at Six U.S. Ports — WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 — The Dubai company at the center of a political furor over its plans to take over some terminal operations at six American ports said Thursday night that it planned to close the deal next week, but that it would …
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye, The Carpetbagger Report, The Anonymous Liberal, AMERICAblog and AMERICAN FUTURE
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National Review:
The Politically Correct vs. the Politically Ridiculous — With the approval of the Bush administration, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over commercial management of shipping and stevedoring operations at six major American ports, located on the eastern seaboard and in New Orleans.
Discussion:
IMAO, Debbie Schlussel, The Counterterrorism Blog, Hyscience, Macsmind and California Conservative
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A Dubai Finesse — If only Churchill were alive today, none of this would be happening. The proud imperialist would have taken care that the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., chartered in 1840 by Victoria ("by the grace of God . . . Queen defender of the faith" on …
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Arab Firm Offers to Delay Deal On Seaports — Senators Challenge Legality of Approval — Facing unrelenting political and national security concerns, an Arab maritime company offered late last night to delay part of its $6.8 billion deal to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports …
CBS News:
S. Dakota Moves Toward Abortion Ban — (CBS/AP) South Dakota moved closer to imposing some of the strictest limits on abortion in the nation, as the state Senate approved legislation that would ban it except when a woman's life is in danger. — The bill, designed to wage a national legal fight …
Discussion:
August J. Pollak, The Huffington Post, firedoglake, Eschaton, Running Scared and Oliver Willis
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Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Anti-gay fury mars funeral of a soldier in Anoka — Protesters from Kansas say God is killing our soldiers because the U.S. tolerates homosexuality. — On her way into the church where the funeral was to be held for her 23-year-old son Thursday morning, Deirdre Ostlund approached six men …
Discussion:
Middle Earth Journal, Captain's Quarters, Norwegianity, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Shot In The Dark and Bring it On!
Shane Harris / nationaljournal.com:
TIA Lives On — A controversial counter-terrorism program, which lawmakers halted more than two years ago amid outcries from privacy advocates, was stopped in name only and has quietly continued within the intelligence agency now fending off charges that it has violated the privacy of U.S. citizens.
David Kaspar / Davids Medienkritik:
SPIEGEL's Karen Hughes Translation Nightmare: Bush "A Wonderful Führer" — (By Ray D.) — After releasing it's English version of an interview with US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes, SPIEGEL ONLINE today released its German version of the same interview.
Murray Waas / whatever already!:
Did the Bush administration "authorize" the leak of classified information to Bob Woodward? And did those leaks damage national security? — The vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) made exactly that charge tonight in a letter to John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence.
Emilio Morenatti / Associated Press:
Israeli Army Kills Top Militant — BALATA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank - Israeli troops on Thursday killed five Palestinians, including a top militant who said just a day earlier that he would never be caught, in the largest West Bank military operation since Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer.
Lori Aratani / Washington Post:
'Gifted' Label Takes a Vacation in Diversity Quest — Middle school magnet programs in Montgomery County have traditionally operated as schools within schools, offering specialized curriculum to a few select students — who have been mostly Asian and white. — But this fall, educators decided to try a different approach.
MSNBC:
Oil refinery attack foiled, Saudis say — Vehicles reportedly were packed with explosives; pipeline fire started — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Suicide bombers in explosives-laden cars attempted to attack an oil processing facility that handles about two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's petroleum output on Friday …
