Iran 'is training the next al-Qa'eda leaders'  —  Iran is seeking to take control of Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'eda terror network by encouraging it to promote officials known to be friendly to Teheran, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.  —  According to recent reports received by Western intelligence agencies …

In Backing Murtha, Pelosi Draws Fire  —  House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Rep. John P. Murtha's bid for House majority leader set off a furor yesterday on Capitol Hill, with critics charging that she is undercutting her pledge to clean up corruption by backing a veteran lawmaker …

The Military Commissions Act in action  —  The Bush administration's treatment of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri ought to be shocking and horrifying.  Instead, it is now not only depressingly familiar, but also something that is formally sanctioned by the U.S. Congress.

IRAQ: A FINAL (BIPARTISAN) PUSH?  —  With the nomination of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, the important role of the Baker-Hamilton Commission in forging a new approach in Iraq becomes even clearer.  Gates was formerly one of the principals of the Commission, and now finds himself thrust …

Blogging for Bolton  —  The Democrats want John Bolton's scalp.  This is a moment for conservatives to stand up to the Left's empty, vindictive obstructionism and support a strong voice for America's interests at the corrupted, soft-on-jihad offices of Turtle Bay.  —  We're videoblogging for Bolton over at Hot Air.

Lott running for whip post  —  After keeping his plans close to the vest since Election Day, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) formally declared his bid for minority whip on Monday evening.  —  Lott had refrained from openly discussing his intentions for the whip race even after GOP Conference …

Outrage as Church backs calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth  —  The Church of England has broken with tradition dogma by calling for doctors to be allowed to let sick newborn babies die.  —  Christians have long argued that life should preserved at all costs …

Florida's Martinez tapped for RNC chief  —  Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, co-author of a bill to grant amnesty to illegal aliens, has been picked by White House strategist Karl Rove to be general chairman of the Republican National Committee, RNC officials confirmed yesterday.

The Media Are the Enemy  —  You're not going to believe this one.  —  All our suspicions about mainstream media slanting and distorting the news from the Middle East are confirmed in a bombshell of a post by Bruno Stevens, at the Lightstalkers pro photographers' forum: The Lebanon 'garbage dump' story: complete explanation.

BBC frightened of criticising Islam, says archbishop  —  The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has accused the BBC of bias against Christianity and says the broadcaster fears a terrorist backlash if it is critical of Islam.  —  The archbishop, the second most senior figure in the Church …

Al-Qaida plotting nuclear attack on UK, officials warn  —  Vikram Dodd  —  British intelligence officials believe that al-Qaida is determined to attack the UK with a nuclear weapon, it emerged yesterday.  The announcement, from an officially organised Foreign Office counter-terrorism briefing …