A Bad Bargain  —  Here is a way to measure how seriously President Bush was willing to compromise on the military tribunals bill: Less than an hour after an agreement was announced yesterday with three leading Republican senators, the White House was already laying a path to wiggle out of its one real concession.

Columbia Withdraws an Invitation to Ahmadinejad  —  Overruling a prominent dean, the president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, yesterday withdrew an invitation to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  —  The dean of Columbia's school of international and public affairs …

Bush Leads New Offensive Featuring Economy and Linking Democrats to High Taxes  —  President Bush began a blistering new political offensive on Thursday, asserting that if Democrats won control of Congress from Republicans it would mean higher taxes, less money in the pockets of working families and damage to the economy.

Much Too Cozy With Chavez  —  Politics: It's good to see Democrats put country above politics, as many did in repudiating Hugo Chavez's lunatic attacks on our president.  But too many are still in the thug's debt and must dissociate with more than words.  —  That's important …

WAL-MART: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY....Ezra Klein comments on Wal-Mart's plan to start selling a wide array of generic prescription drugs for as little as $4 for a 30-day supply: … This is actually worth unpacking a bit, because no one ought to be surprised by Ezra's reaction.

Civilian deaths soar to record high in Iraq  —  Peter Beaumont in Baghdad and agencies  —  Nearly 7,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in the past two months, according to a UN report just released - a record high that is far greater than initial estimates had suggested.

Confronted by the Islamist threat on all sides, Europe pathetically caves in  —  LATE LAST YEAR, at the invitation of Nato, and in the company of a small band of globetrotting pundits, I travelled to Afghanistan to witness first-hand the allied operation to reconstruct the benighted country.

Bush and His Public in a Disinformation Age  —  The most original and thought-provoking insights in "The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina," Frank Rich's meticulously researched chronicle of the Bush administration's exploits, come in his searing analysis …

Tolerance: A Two-Way Street  —  Religious fanatics, regardless of what name they give their jealous god, invariably have one thing in common: no sense of humor.  Particularly about themselves.  It's hard to imagine Torquemada taking a joke well.  —  Today's Islamists seem to have not even a sense of irony.

Israel: Foreign reporters' vehicles may be used terrorists  —  Government Press Office director warns Shin Bet that armored vehicles used by foreign news agencies may serve hostile groups to carry out attacks against Israel  —  Armored vehicles that were given to foreign news agencies operating …

Webb's Dirty Tricksters: push-blogging  —  This is George Allen telling the deeply moving story of the recent conversation with his mother about the Jewish heritage she'd been afraid to reveal.  —  This is Jim Webb on Hardball, denying that his campaign has pushed the story …

Palestinian PM won't recognize Israel  —  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said Friday he will not head a government that recognizes Israel, striking a potential blow to President Mahmoud Abbas' attempts to create a national unity government.

Strained, Army Looks to Guard for More Relief  —  Strains on the Army from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have become so severe that Army officials say they may be forced to make greater use of the National Guard to provide enough troops for overseas deployments.