At Hearing, Gates Says U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq  —  President Bush's nominee to be Secretary of Defense said today that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, and that an American failure there could help to ignite "a regional conflagration" in the Middle East.

'We Can't Afford to Leave'  —  As the debate over Iraq intensifies, leading Democrat Silvestre Reyes is calling for the deployment of more U.S. troops.  —  Dec. 5.  2006 - In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee …

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish  —  Medical records show that when Tyler Jennings returned from Iraq last year, he was severely depressed and used drugs to cope.  When the sergeants who ran his platoon found out, they started to haze him.

First President Bush Sobs While Talking of Son  —  Former President George H.W. Bush came here Monday to talk about leadership and opened his remarks with advice on working with rivals, being patient and building personal relationships.  —  He then broke down in tears mentioning his son …

2008: If Obama runs, he wins  —  Standard caveats aside (it's early, we don't have a set field, blah blah blah), it's hard to see how Barack Obama loses the nomination barring scandal or the mother-of-all gaffes.  —  I've been working up a few scenarios given the primary calendar …

The 1st Amendment Is Not a Suicide Pact: Blocking the Speech That Calls for Our Death  —  I must have hit a nerve.  —  In New Hampshire last week, at a dinner hosted by the Loeb School honoring our 1st-Amendment rights, I called for a serious debate about the 1st Amendment and how terrorists …

NASA Plans Permanent Moon Base  —  NASA announced plans on Monday for a permanent base on the Moon, to be started soon after astronauts return there around 2020.  —  The agency's deputy administrator, Shana Dale, said the United States would develop rockets and spacecraft to get people to the Moon and establish a rudimentary base.

Veiled woman to give C4's speech  —  A veiled Muslim woman will deliver this year's alternative Christmas speech on Channel 4, the broadcaster has said.  —  Khadija, a Zimbabwean-born British citizen who has been wearing the full veil - or niqab - for 10 years, has been given the slot.

With the Democratic Congress, Groups Gear Up for Fight Over Paid Sick Days  —  With the Democratic Congress expected to move quickly to raise the minimum wage, many Democrats, women's organizations and liberal groups are gearing up for a fight on another workplace issue: paid sick days.

American Among Terror Plotters in Egypt  —  *Bumped* because I don't think this is getting enough press.  An American.  Arrested in Egypt.  Part of an international cell of jihadis.  For, at the very least, encouraging people to go to Iraq and fight Americans.  That.  Is.  TREASON.

Bridge to Nowhere  —  Political consensus isn't going to solve America's Iraq problem.  —  Reading major American newspapers is a bit like trying to decipher an archeological text written in a dead language.  Well-informed reporters bring you the facts you need to know …

SOLVING THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS....I've been waiting impatiently for Instapundit's promised "symposium" on Iraq, an ambitious attempt to see if the blogosphere can come up with better ideas than all those tired mainstream analysts.  As it turns out, response was so overwhelming that we'll be getting multiple installments.

I: About That Cakewalk ...  I remember sitting with Richard Perle in his suite at London's Grosvenor House hotel and receiving a private lecture on the importance of securing victory in Iraq.  "Iraq is a very good candidate for democratic reform," he said.  "It won't be Westminster overnight …

'Civil war' and the real press scandal  —  The excited news coverage surrounding the decision by NBC, as well as other media outlets, to finally label the bloody chaos inside Iraq for what it really is, a civil war, came tinged with a strange, self-congratulatory tone, as if the journalists involved …

President Bush Meets with His Eminence Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, Leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq  —  PRESIDENT BUSH: Your Eminence, welcome back to the Oval Office.  This is the second opportunity I've had to meet with one of the distinguished leaders of a free Iraq.

NYC Health Board Votes to Ban Trans Fats  —  The Board of Health voted Tuesday to make New York the nation's first city to ban artery-clogging artificial trans fats at restaurants - from the corner pizzeria to high-end bakeries.  —  The board, which passed the ban unanimously …

Anger over Dutch Srebrenica medal  —  Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre have criticised the Dutch government for giving an insignia to UN peacekeepers who served in the city.  —  They said honouring Dutch troops who were charged with protecting the Muslim Bosnian enclave was "scandalous".

Russian security service 'led poison plot'  —  Intelligence services in Britain are convinced that the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko was authorised by the Russian Federal Security Service.  —  Security sources have told The Times that the FSB orchestrated a "highly sophisticated plot" …