At least Bush wants to win  —  Bush sticks to his goal of winning in Iraq.  The Democrats are just stuck.  —  AMERICANS ARE torn between two irreconcilable positions on the Iraq war.  Some want the war to be a success — variously defined — and some want the war to be over.

SENATOR MCCONNELL ON THE PRESIDENT'S PLAN  —  Senate Minority Leader McConnell held a call with a few bloggers and journalists this morning.  He supports the president's plan for a surge, which he views as "courageous and correct."  He reasons that the object in Iraq is to win …

Senate opposition to Bush plan grows  —  Republican Hagel calls it 'blunder'; Democrats expect to pass resolution  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defends U.S. policy in Iraq at a Senate hearing on Thursday.  —  NBC VIDEO  —  Jan. 11: Congressional reaction to President Bush's Iraq plan …

Poll: 70 percent oppose more troops in Iraq  —  Only 35 percent of respondents believe going to war was the right call  —  WASHINGTON - Americans overwhelmingly oppose sending more U.S. forces to Iraq, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll that serves as a strong repudiation of President Bush's plan to send another 21,500 troops.

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq, Detain 5 (Update2)  —  Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members, a state-run Iranian news service said.  —  The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open …

Poll: Americans oppose Iraq troop surge  —  WASHINGTON - Seventy percent of Americans oppose sending more troops to Iraq, according to a new poll that provides a devastatingly blunt response to President Bush's plan to bolster military forces there.  —  All sides in the Iraq debate …

We're In Trouble  —  We're in big trouble.  —  Have a look at The Washington Note, whose latest begins like this: … If this is true, we're in very big trouble.  Or, if the rumor was sparked by an order 'only' authorizing clandestine operations (or, worse, bombardment) as a form of provocation, this is serious stuff.

Report: Nuclear Explosion in Iran (UPDATE: 3 explosions)  —  A major explosion is being reported in the Iranian desert.  It said to be a nuclear explosion.  In the general area of one of Iran's nuclear testing sitees.  —  The alternative theory is that a UFO crashed.

Iranian officials detained in Iraq, U.S. official says … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. forces detained six Iranian officials for questioning in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, seat of the Kurdish regional government, an American official said Thursday.  —  But the official disputes accounts …