memeorandum: Democratic Leaders Seek Special Iraq Envoy to Try to Stem the Violence (Carl Hulse/New York Times)

10:05 AM ET, December 1, 2006

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: QandO, The Carpetbagger Report, Sadly, No!, Iowa Voice, AMERICAblog, The American Street, Gun Toting Liberal and The News Blog

Robin Wright / Washington Post:

U.S. Considers Ending Outreach to Insurgents — The Bush administration is deliberating whether to abandon U.S. reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents and instead give priority to Shiites and Kurds, who won elections and now dominate the government, according to U.S. officials.

Discussion: Political Animal, Daily Kos, Think Progress, PrairiePundit and The American Street

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

This Is Realism? — Iran and Syria Won't Be Riding to Our Rescue — Now that the "realists" have ridden into town gleefully consigning the Bush doctrine to the ash heap of history, everyone has discovered the notion of interests, as if it were some new idea thought up by James Baker and the Iraq Study Group.

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and PrairiePundit

Laura Rozen / American Prospect:

Get the Memo — A readers' guide to Stephen Hadley's reflections on Iraq. — This Wednesday, the day that President Bush was to meet with Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al Maliki in Jordan, The New York Times published a classified memo prepared by National Security advisor Stephen Hadley and his staff …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Bush Agrees to Speedy Turnover in Iraq

Discussion: Redstate and PoliPundit.com

Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Bush v. Baker

Discussion: Daily Kos and The American Scene

Associated Press:

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.

Discussion: Riehl World View, The American Street, Gateway Pundit and Patterico's Pontifications

Guardian:

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.

Discussion: Independent, Atlantic Free Press, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Strata-Sphere and Decision '08

New York Sun: The Alternate Theory — A wire arrived yesterday from Edward …

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

McCain Courts Crucial Support of Governors — Last anyone checked, Senator John McCain of Arizona is not — and has never been — a governor. — But no matter. Mr. McCain turned up on Thursday morning at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa here for a guerrillalike visit to the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
GOP Must Correct Its Mistakes, Mehlman Says

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

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 …

Discussion: Daimnation!

Hindrocket / Power Line:

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.

Senator Bill Frist:
Looking Ahead as My Term as a Citizen Legislator Ends

Discussion: UNCoRRELATED

Media Research Center:

NBC Ignores Pelosi Flub, Relays Retort to Bush on Qaeda in Iraq — Asked by a reporter about how "President Bush today blamed the surge of violence in Iraq on al Qaeda," incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded with a disjointed answer about how "the 9/11 Commission dismissed that notion …

Discussion: Power Line and PrairiePundit

Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:

'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.

Discussion: ShopFloor.org, Decision '08 and The Influence Peddler

Boston Globe:

Illegal immigrants toiled for governor — Guatemalans say firm hired them — This story was reported by Jonathan Saltzman and Maria Cramer of the Globe staff and by Globe correspondent Connie Paige and was written by Saltzman. — SUCHITEPEQUEZ, Guatemala — Outside his aqua-colored concrete house here …

Discussion: The Corner and Pam's House Blend

Dan Froomkin / Watchdog Blog:

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.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Road to Surfdom, Booman Tribune and CorrenteWire

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

Democratic Leaders Seek Special Iraq Envoy to Try to Stem the Violence — Leading Senate Democrats called Wednesday for President Bush to appoint a special envoy to work with Iraqi leaders to bring increasing violence in Iraq under control. — "Violence in Iraq has reached critical levels …

Discussion: Agence France Presse, Associated Press, On Deadline, Hot Air, PrairiePundit and Bill's Bites

Nora Boustany / Washington Post:

U.N. Official Calls Violence in Darfur 'Horrific' — Rebuke Follows Rights Council's Rejection of Measure Seeking Prosecutions by Sudan — Atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan are occurring daily at a "horrific" level, the top U.N. human rights official said yesterday …

Discussion: The Sundries Shack and David Corn

Ian / Hot Air:

Video: Dean bashes Fox News in Canada, reporter responds — in French! — Like I said, biting the hand that feeds you. — At the Canadian Liberal Leadership Convention last night, Howard Dean said Fox News would "hate this" following a remark about the Dems' victory in the states.

SilentPatriot / Crooks and Liars:

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.

Discussion: Dr. Sanity and Jesus' General