Iraq Panel to Urge Pullout Of Combat Troops by '08  —  The bipartisan Iraq Study Group plans to recommend withdrawing nearly all U.S. combat units from Iraq by early 2008 while leaving behind troops to train, advise and support the Iraqis, setting the first goal for a major drawdown of U.S. forces …

Iraq ministry forms unit to monitor news  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's Interior Ministry said Thursday it had formed a special unit to monitor news coverage and vowed to take legal action against journalists who failed to correct stories the ministry deemed to be incorrect.

EXCLUSIVE: Iranian Weapons Arm Iraqi Militia  —  Hezbollah Training Also Linked to Iraq Violence  —  U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories.  According to a senior defense official …

Litvinenko was victim of 'Russian rogue agents'  —  British intelligence sources increasingly suspect that Alexander Litvinenko, the former spy killed with a radioactive poison, was the victim of a plot involving "rogue elements" within the Russian state, the Guardian has learned.

On Calling Bulls**t  —  Mainstream-media political journalism is in danger of becoming increasingly irrelevant, but not because of the Internet, or even Comedy Central.  The threat comes from inside.  It comes from journalists being afraid to do what journalists were put on this green earth to do.

Benchwarming  —  THE SUPREME COURT MELTS DOWN OVER GREENHOUSE GASSES.  —  If there is anything stranger than writing up your story on global warming in a T-shirt ... in late November ... in the District of Columbia, I can't quite think what it is.  In fact nothing about this morning's oral argument …

THE LINEUP FOR 2008  —  Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced that he will not run for President in 2008.  You can read his statement here.  Frist's announcement didn't make a very big splash; many observers hadn't taken him seriously as a Presidential candidate in any event.

Obama is going to go for it  —  Bottom line: I think Sen. Barack Obama, who is seriously considering a run for president, is going to jump into the 2008 race.  I predict the freshman Illinois Democrat will announce near the end of this year or the beginning of 2007, sometime after he returns from a holiday break in his native Hawaii.

Webb conveys the message of a boor  —  Wednesday's Washington Post reported that at a White House reception for newly elected members of Congress, Webb "tried to avoid President Bush," refusing to pass through the reception line or have his picture taken with the President.

It's losing we hate, not war  —  Those who compare the lengths of WWII and Iraq ignore the real thing we don't like in far-flung wars.  —  ONE THOUSAND three hundred and forty seven days.  —  That's how long the United States was involved in combat in World War II, and Monday …

Focus of FBI Probe, Mollohan May Oversee FBI Budget  —  The leadership ambitions of two senior Democrats have already been deep-sixed for their murky ethics histories.  Here's a third Democrat heading for a powerful post whom folks may want to keep an eye on.  —  Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is under investigation by the FBI.

Call For Action Against Iranian Death Fatwa Upon Journalist  —  This is a call for action.  We are going to write a nice and impassioned response to the Ayatollah who has called for the death of an Azerbaijani writer (his crime was to have included some of the Danish cartoon pics in an article he wrote).

'Fair Trade' Foolishness  —  We may be about to shoot ourselves in the foot — or maybe the chest — on trade.  In the name of "fair trade," we may punish our own exporters.  In 2005 worldwide exports exceeded $10 trillion.  Since 1980 they've more than tripled while the overall global economy doubled.

Olbermann's Special Comment on Gingrich: "We fight for liberty by having more liberty and not less"  —  Tonight, Keith took on Newt Gingrich's controversial remarks from earlier this week where he suggested we re-think free speech as we know it in order to effectively combat the threat of terrorism.

Mabus, Musgrove, Moore for Mississippi Democrats in '07 & '08  —  For Democrats in Mississippi, the only thing awaiting them is putting together the winning team for 2007 & 2008, and it appears another bastion of the Republicans will fall.  Already, preparing for the Governor's race …

Do Not Pry Open Until Christmas  —  The Hard Truth About Hated 'Clamshell' Packaging  —  There's a part of Christmas morning that Tiffany Seay dreads: getting everything out of its packaging.  The twisties.  The tape.  The hard plastic ties, like handcuffs for dolls.  The itty-bitty screwdrivers.

FEMA Told to Resume Storm Aid  —  Judge's Ruling May Affect Thousands On the Gulf Coast  —  The Bush administration unconstitutionally denied aid to tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and must resume payments immediately, a federal judge ordered yesterday.

Conservative Students to Display "ACLU Nativity Scene"  —  Contact: Kevin Potter, Director of Communications - 469.231.4327  —  Conservative Students to Display "ACLU Nativity Scene"  —  Young Conservatives of Texas at UT Austin  —  Contact: Tony McDonald, Chairman 512.923.6893

Hezbollah in Latin America  —  It's pretty rare that I have an occasion to congratulate Hugo Chavez's government on anything, especially anything related to the War on Terror.  But two cheers are in order for Venezuela's capture of the leader of an international terror organization which looks …