A Plausible Plan B  —  If we were allied with an Iraqi government that, however weak, was truly national — cross-confessional and dedicated to fighting a two-front war against Baathist insurgents and Shiite militias — a surge of American troops, together with a change of counterinsurgency strategy …

Flexing Muscle, China Destroys Satellite in Test  —  China successfully carried out its first test of an antisatellite weapon last week, signaling its resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said yesterday.

Gonzales: 'There Is No Express Grant of Habeas Corpus In The Constitution'  —  Yesterday, during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claimed there is no express right to habeas corpus in the U.S. Constitution.  Gonzales was debating Sen. Arlen Specter …

WHCA Chief Says He Did Not Tell Comedian to Back Off Bush and Iraq  —  NEW YORK Earlier this week word emerged that impersonator Rich Little would be the star performer at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington in April.  Organizers admitted they wanted a somewhat more …

Senate Passes Ethics Package  —  Parties Reach Hard-Fought Deal On Lobbying and Other Reforms  —  Senate Democrats and Republicans broke a difficult stalemate last night and approved 96 to 2 expansive legislation to curtail the influence of lobbyists, tighten congressional ethics rules …

Former Rep. Ney Sentenced to 30 Months  —  Former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, the only member of Congress to face criminal prosecution in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, was sentenced Friday to 30 months in prison.  —  Ney, 52, pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2006, to making false statements and conspiracy to commit fraud.

Reuters Investigation Leads To Dismissal Of Editor  —  Reuters fired a top photo editor for the Middle East during an internal investigation of two doctored photos from the Israel-Lebanon war that were published last summer.  —  The editor was the second casualty of the photo manipulation …

The Most Depressing Poll Ever  —  In the latest Fox News poll, just out today, the pollsters asked the following question: … Here are the results: … Friends, I'll allow you a minute to wrap your minds around this, for we are truly through the looking class.

Obama Smeared As Former 'Madrassa' Student, Possible Covert Muslim Extremist  —  This morning, Fox News featured a segment highlighting a right-wing report that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) attended an Islamic "madrassa" school as a 6-year-old child.  —  Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy pointed …

Radicals vs. moderates: British Muslims at crossroads … DUBLIN, Ireland (CNN) — At a recent debate over the battle for Islamic ideals in England, a British-born Muslim stood before the crowd and said Prophet Mohammed's message to nonbelievers is: "I come to slaughter all of you."

House Repeals Tax Break for Big Oil  —  Pelosi Plan for New Panel Sparks Criticism  —  House Democrats capped their "100 hours" agenda with the passage of an energy bill yesterday, the sixth piece of legislation approved in two weeks, and Democratic leaders said the package marked "a beginning …

The Blitzing of Haret Hreik  —  HARET HREIK, LEBANON - I have been to Haret Hreik, Hezbollah's dahiyeh and de-facto "capital" south of Beirut, many times.  But I didn't expect to see it on my most recent trip.  Every Lebanese person I know warned me to stay out of there.

Road Home seldom leading out of state  —  Most plan to use grants to rebuild, not to relocate  —  Unlike most Arabi homeowners displaced by the 2005 hurricanes, John and Diane Johnson don't face the stress of rebuilding their destroyed property during an interminable wait for state aid.

Identity of Edwards Home's Buyers Veiled  —  Assisted-Living Magnates in SEC Probe Paid Candidate $5.2 Million  —  When former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally succeeded last month in selling his imposing Georgetown mansion for $5.2 million …

The Purge  —  Following up yesterday's post on replacing U.S. attorneys — Paul Krugman writes in today's New York Times, … As I wrote yesterday, U.S. attorneys usually are appointed at the beginning of a president's term and serve for that term. it is not normal to replace U.S. attorneys …

Abdullah to Haaretz: Jordan will develop nuclear power  —  Jordan aspires to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes and believes that unless all sides move quickly toward a peace settlement in the region, the recent confrontation in Lebanon is only a hint of disasters to come.

Ministers launch petition to stop Bush library  —  DALLAS, Texas (AP) — A group of Methodist ministers from across the nation launched an online petition drive Thursday urging Southern Methodist University to stop trying to land George W. Bush's presidential library.