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Drudge Report:
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY: ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION — Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror - and our safety here at home.
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Associated Press, Captain's Quarters, Jay Reding.com, Guardian, The Huffington Post, Power Line, Matthew Yglesias, White House, ABCNEWS, The American Street, QandO, Don Surber, Lean Left, Washington Post, Redstate, Right Wing News, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Defense Tech, PoliBlog (TM), Taylor Marsh, The Swamp, Flopping Aces, The Political Pit Bull, Blogcritics Section, Blogs for Bush, The American Mind, A Blog For All, Gun Toting Liberal ™, PoliPundit.com, Blue Crab Boulevard, Political Animal, Wizbang, The Democratic Daily, Tammy Bruce, Instapundit.com, Daimnation!, Daily Pundit, Reason Magazine and Unqualified Offerings
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Washington Post:
Report: U.S. Troops Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq — U.S. troops raided an Iranian consulate in northern Iraq late Wednesday night and detained several people, Iran's main news agency reported today, prompting protests from Tehran just hours after President Bush pledged to crack down on the Islamic Republic's role in Iraqi violence.
Michelle Malkin:
In the slums of Baghdad — My Hot Air colleague Bryan Preston and I have been in Iraq, embedded with an incredibly dedicated Army unit in Baghdad tasked with training Iraqi security forces (both Shia and Sunni) conducting counterinsurgency operations, and carrying out civil affairs work.
New York Times:
Promising Troops Where They Aren't Really Wanted — As President Bush challenges public opinion at home by committing more American troops, he is confronted by a paradox: an Iraqi government that does not really want them. — The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki …
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Bush Adds Troops in Bid to Secure Iraq — President Bush embraced a major tactical shift on Wednesday evening in the war in Iraq when he declared that the only way to quell sectarian violence there was to send more than 20,000 additional American troops into combat.
Bryan / Hot Air:
On Patrol in Baghdad; Update: Photos posted at Michelle's site — Michelle and I are embedded with a unit in Baghdad that's responsible for the "standing up" part of the US plan to get Iraq ready to become master of its own destiny. This unit trains Iraqi army and police …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Right Wing Nut House, Blogs of War, Patterico's Pontifications, Gateway Pundit and Suitably Flip
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush's Strategy for Iraq Risks Confrontations — By stepping up the American military presence in Iraq, President Bush is not only inviting an epic clash with the Democrats who run Capitol Hill. He is ignoring the results of the November elections, rejecting the central thrust …
Washington Post:
Intensified Combat on Streets Likely — President Bush's plan to send tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements to Baghdad to jointly confront Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias is likely to touch off a more dangerous phase of the war, featuring months of fighting in the streets …
Associated Press:
Al-Maliki gives Mahdi Army blunt choice: disarm or face American onslaught — Canadian Press: STEVEN R. HURST AND QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA — BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's prime minister has told Mahdi Army militiamen they must surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces …
Juan / Informed Comment:
Bush Sends GIs to his Private Fantasyland — To listen to Bush's speech on Wednesday, you would imagine that al-Qaeda has occupied large swathes of Iraq with the help of Syria and Iran and is brandishing missiles at the US mainland. That the president of the United States can come …
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:The President's intentions towards Iran need much more attention
Discussion:
toohotfortnr, CorrenteWire, It Shines For All, TigerHawk, The Reaction, Unfogged, The Carpetbagger Report and State of the Day
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:Bid to Secure Baghdad Relies on Troops and Iraqi Leaders
Discussion:
The Belgravia Dispatch
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
The Glenn and Helen Show: Mitt Romney on the War, the Campaign and the Future — Mitt Romney has officially declared his interest in the 2008 Presidential election. In this interview, he responds to a controversial YouTube video about his positions on abortion and other social issues …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Hot Air, ElephantBiz, Power Line, BuzzMachine, Ace of Spades HQ and Captain's Quarters
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RADAR:
DLC TAPS HAROLD FORD AS NEXT CHAIR — Young, black, and good-looking, Harold Ford is the kind of comer that the Democratic Party latches onto. But last November, after losing the closest Senate race in Tennessee history to Republican Bob Corker, the 10-year congressman suddenly found himself out of a job.
Washington Post:
Democrats Aim to Block Funds for Plan — Senior House Democrats said yesterday that they will attempt to derail funding for President Bush's proposal to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, setting up what could become the most significant confrontation between the White House and Congress …
Discussion:
NY Daily News, Hot Air, MyDD, The Strata-Sphere, Think Progress, AMERICAblog, Sirotablog, Swampland, DownWithTyranny! and Political Satire Fake News
Alan Sipress / Washington Post:
Too Casual To Sit on Press Row? — Bloggers' Credentials Boosted With Seats at the Libby Trial — When the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice opens next week, scores of journalists are expected to throng the federal courtroom …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Outside The Beltway, Media Blog, Beltway Blogroll, Blue Crab Boulevard, Wonkette and Romenesko
Telegraph:
3,000 British troops to pull out of Iraq by May — By Thomas Harding in Basra and Toby Harnden in Washington — Thousands of British troops will return home from Iraq by the end of May, The Daily Telegraph can reveal today. — Tony Blair will announce within the next fortnight …
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Memri Latest Blogs:
Salahaldin Al-Ayoubi Brigades Claim To Have Launched Missiles Loaded With Chemicals — Read MEMRI's Latest Reports on the Islamist Website Monitor Project — The Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya Cessation of Violence: An Ideological Reversal — 'Committee of Women's Petition' President to British House of Lords …
Richard Beeston / Times of London:
Hamas leader accepts the 'reality' of Israel — The hardline leader of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, accepted the existence of Israel yesterday and acknowledged that the Jewish state was likely to remain a reality. In a clear softening of his position, Khaled Meshaal …
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