memeorandum: 5 ousted U.S. attorneys received positive job evaluations (Marisa Taylor/Real Cities)

3:35 PM ET, February 13, 2007

Top Items:

Thomas Harding / Telegraph:

Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran — Austrian sniper rifles that were exported to Iran have been discovered in the hands of Iraqi terrorists, The Daily Telegraph has learned. — More than 100 of the.50 calibre weapons, capable of penetrating body armour, have been discovered by American troops during raids.

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, Jules Crittenden, Roger L. Simon, Power Line, Obsidian Wings, QandO, The Bullwinkle Blog, Gateway Pundit, Polimom Says, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Impolitic, The Moderate Voice and Little Green Footballs

Matthew Yglesias:

Assassination Vacation — One thing to consider about the Glenn Reynolds / Hugh Hewitt assassination strategy for coping with the Iranian nuclear program ("we should be responding quietly, killing radical mullahs and Iranian atomic scientists") beyond the obvious is how we once again see conservatives …

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Extremist Bush supporter calls for murder of scientists — Whenever you think that Bush followers cannot get any more depraved in what they advocate, they always prove you wrong. This is what University of Tennessee Law Professor and right-wing blogger Glenn Reynolds said today about claims …

Discussion: The Impolitic and Comments From Left Field

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Iranian Smoking Guns Found ... Literally — The Telegraph reports this morning that rifles imported from Austria by Iran have surfaced among insurgents in Iraq. Steyr-Mannlicher exported 800 of its high-powered HS50 models, capable of piercing body armor, to the National Iranian Police Association for their anti-narcotics efforts:

Discussion: New York Times, protein wisdom, Hot Air, TigerHawk, The Heretik, Argghhh!, Instapundit.com and NewsHog

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
IRAN IN IRAQ: Smoking guns. — This has been obvious for a long …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Obsidian Wings, Outside The Beltway, Unqualified Offerings, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Beltway Blogroll, Classical Values and The Political Pit Bull

Jim Yardley / New York Times:

North Korea to Close Reactor in Exchange for Raft of Aid — North Korea agreed today to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for a package of food, fuel and other aid from the United States, China, South Korea and Russia. The breakthrough, announced by the Chinese government …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money, Redstate, The Washington Note, democracyarsenal.org, Political Animal, All Spin Zone, Matthew Yglesias, AMERICAblog, Secular Blasphemy, Booman Tribune and Demagogue

Edward Cody / Washington Post:

N. Korea Agrees to Nuclear Disarmament — In a landmark international accord, North Korea promised Tuesday to close down and seal its lone nuclear reactor within 60 days in return for 50,000 tons of fuel oil as a first step in abandoning all nuclear weapons and research programs.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner, The Corner, Bradford Plumer, Blue Crab Boulevard, Iowa Voice and Decision '08

Edward Cody / Washington Post:
Tentative Nuclear Deal Struck With North Korea

Discussion: New York Times, Gun Toting Liberal ™, The Corner, The Bullwinkle Blog and Fausta's blog

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Imus On Russert And Plame: "I Think He Knew" — At approximately 7:45 Am (Eastern) Don Imus talked to Frank Rich on his MSNBC Show today and picked up on the Libby trial where he left off yesterday, saying that thinks Tim Russert knew about Valerie Plame (or Wilson's wife) prior to the publication of the Novak column.

Discussion: The Imus Show Blog, AbracadabrahI create …, Flopping Aces and NewsBusters.org

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Star Character Witnesses at Libby Trial — A familiar-looking man in his early 60s took the stand at the Scooter Libby trial yesterday morning. "I need to ask you to spell your last name," said defense attorney Bill Jeffress. — "W-O-O-D-W-A-R-D," the man replied. — This was not sufficient for Judge Reggie Walton.

New York Times:
Libby Lawyers Open Case With Denials by Reporters

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Moderate Voice, TPMmuckraker and Washington Post

The Blotter:

Foggo Indictment Expected; Dark Day for the CIA — Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report: — Federal prosecutors in San Diego are expected today to announce indictments in a case that involves the former No. 3 official at the CIA, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, officials tell ABC News.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and The Impolitic

CNN:
Sources: Ex-CIA No. 3 to be indicted in corruption inquiry

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

USA Today:

Will Mormon faith hurt bid for White House? — SALT LAKE CITY — It's easy to find Mormons who have run into misconceptions about their faith. Take Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Republican Party in Utah, a state that's 70% Mormon. "I only have one mom. I only have one wife," he says.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Caucus, CNN Political Ticker, DownWithTyranny!, Eunomia and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

CNN:
Romney kicks off White House bid

Discussion: Jay Reding.com and Decision '08

USA Today:

Poll: 63% want all troops home by end of '08 — WASHINGTON — Americans overwhelmingly support congressional action to cap the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and set a timetable to bring them home by the end of next year, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds — tougher action than the non-binding resolution …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Daily Kos and First Read

Frank Newport / Gallup Poll: Majority Wants Congress to Set Limits on U.S. Troop Presence in Iraq

New York Times:

Obama Restructures a Remark on Deaths — Senator Barack Obama of Illinois said Monday that he had misspoken when he suggested that the lives of more than 3,000 American soldiers killed in Iraq had been "wasted." — As he arrived in New Hampshire, Mr. Obama said he would "absolutely apologize" …

Discussion: Washington Post, Reason Magazine, Balloon Juice, The Strata-Sphere, The Carpetbagger Report, TIME, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Michelle Malkin, Daily Kos, Nitpicker, Blue Crab Boulevard, Macsmind, Don Surber and The News Blog

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:

Amanda Marcotte Resigns from Edwards Campaign — Amanda Marcotte has resigned as John Edwards' blogger, on the basis that she was creating a distraction for the campaign. Rather than stop there, though, she plays the victim. … What in the world does gender have to do with it?

Discussion: QandO, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Democratic Daily, Blue Mass. Group, The Moderate Voice, PoliBlog (TM) and The Reaction

New York Times:

Long a Target Over Faulty Iraq Intelligence, Ex-C.I.A. Chief Prepares to Return Fire — For the past two years, George J. Tenet has maintained a determined silence even as senior White House officials have laid the blame for the prewar mistakes about Saddam Hussein on him.

Discussion: Think Progress, All Spin Zone, A Tiny Revolution, The Daily Dish and The Heretik

The Smoking Gun:

Rudy Giuliani's Vulnerabilities — Secret study cited "weirdness factor" among candidate weaknesses — As he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph Giuliani will have to contend with political and personal baggage unknown to prospective supporters whose knowledge …

Discussion: Blog P.I., PoliBlog (TM), The Huffington Post, Brilliant at Breakfast, Lonewacko, The Heretik, digg, The Influence Peddler and Gun Toting Liberal ™

Marisa Taylor / Real Cities:

5 ousted U.S. attorneys received positive job evaluations — WASHINGTON - Although the Bush administration has said that six U.S. attorneys were fired recently in part because of "performance related" issues, at least five of them received positive job evaluations before they were ordered to step down.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report and The Blue State

Associated Press:

U.S. general: No evidence Iran is arming Iraqis — Pace contradicts claims by other U.S. military, administration officials — JAKARTA, Indonesia - A top U.S. general said Tuesday there was no evidence the Iranian government was supplying Iraqi insurgents with highly lethal roadside bombs …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Jawa Report, NewsHog, War and Piece, Talking Points Memo, Middle Earth Journal and BlondeSense

ABCNEWS:

EXCLUSIVE: Iranian President Says He's Ready to Cooperate on Nukes, Calls Holocaust an 'Excuse' — In an Exclusive Interview With Diane Sawyer, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Spoke About His Distrust of Israel — In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Iranian President Mahmoud …

Discussion: Wonkette and TPMmuckraker

Reuters:

BofA aims new credit card at illegal immigrants: report — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, typically illegal immigrants, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. — In recent years …

Discussion: INTEL DUMP, Lonewacko, Scared Monkeys, PoliPundit.com and The Bullwinkle Blog

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:

Now It's Personal: Al Qaeda Calls Bush an Alcoholic Liar — Brian Ross Reports: — The latest taped statement from al Qaeda is an unusually personal attack on President Bush, in which al Qaeda's No. 2 in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, denounces Bush as "an alcoholic, liar and gambler with an addictive personality."

Discussion: Flopping Aces, Iowa Voice, Wonkette and Riehl World View

c-span.org:

THE WHITE HOUSE — Q Mr. President, in 23 months our 44th President will be sworn into this office. With regard to the Middle East and Iraq, specifically, what will he or she inherit? — THE PRESIDENT: A society in Iraq that is learning to live with themselves; a unified …

Discussion: First Draft and No More Mister Nice Blog