U.S., France OK U.N. Mideast truce pact  —  UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France agreed Saturday on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah but would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked, officials said.

Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut?  —  OK, now things are getting weird.  —  This Reuters photograph shows blatant evidence of manipulation.  Notice the repeating patterns in the smoke; this is almost certainly caused by using the Photoshop "clone" tool to add more smoke to the image.

Baghdad's Chaos Raises Questions on U.S. Plan  —  Over the past year, as American commanders pushed Iraqi forces to take over responsibility for this violent capital, Baghdad became a markedly more dangerous place.  —  Now the Americans are being forced to call in more of their own troops to bring the city under control.

Washington Deal Maker Details Palm Greasing  —  WASHINGTON — In 1992, Brent R. Wilkes rented a suite at the Hyatt Hotel a few blocks from the Capitol.  In his briefcase was a stack of envelopes for a half-dozen congressmen, each packet containing up to $10,000 in checks.

Anti-war, Anti-Israel, Anti-Joe  —  You fight the global war against jihadist Islam with the political parties you have.  —  We have two.  One is the Republican party, led by George W. Bush.  Its heart and mind are mostly in the right place.  Its performance as a governing party in time of war is, admittedly, another matter.

Mexico full poll recount rejected  —  Mexico's electoral body has rejected a request by left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for a full recount of votes from July's disputed election.  —  Instead, the electoral tribunal's seven judges ordered a partial recount.

Hezbollahland Photo Gallery  —  Lebanon is a beautiful country, and Beirut is a beautiful city.  (If you don't believe me, see here and here.)  Hezbollah-occupied Lebanon, though, isn't so great — especially now.  —  Last year I took dozens of photos of Hezbollah's miniature state-within-a-state …

The Last Honest Man  —  Twenty-nine Democratic senators voted in the fall of 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq.  There isn't enough room on this page to list the Democratic foreign policy experts and former officials, including those from the top ranks of the Clinton administration …

Clinton Dodges Political Peril for War Vote  —  There was a time when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's position on the Iraq war seemed to place her in the same political peril afflicting Senator Joseph I. Lieberman.  —  The senators, both Democrats, voted to authorize the military invasion …