Iran tells US to set timetable for Iraq exit  —  Iranian officials last night demanded a timetable for US troop withdrawal from Iraq as they attended a rare meeting with American diplomats in Baghdad.  —  The conference was aimed at stopping Iraq being used as a sectarian battleground by Sunni and Shia neighbours.

Meltdown over Fox  —  Network co-sponsors state Democratic debate — oh my!  —  Hard-core liberals can't stand the Fox News Channel.  Passing a television that's tuned to the conservative favorite forces many of them to close their eyes, cover their ears and scream, "La la la la la la la la la!"

McCain goes over to the dark side  —  John McCain goes over to the dark side  —  'THIS IS NOT Luke Skywalker here," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), discussing his friend and Senate colleague John McCain's second run for the presidency. "  This is a totally different campaign.

General Eaton: "Republican Congress worst thing that's happened to US Army and Marine Corps"  —  Friday night on Real Time, Bill Maher interviewed retired Army Major General Paul D. Eaton who was the original Commander in charge of training Iraqi troops.  Maher tries to get a laugh …

Rove was asked to fire U.S. attorney  —  WASHINGTON - Presidential advisor Karl Rove and at least one other member of the White House political team were urged by the New Mexico Republican party chairman to fire the state's U.S. attorney because of dissatisfaction with his job performance including …

Report Details Missteps in Data Collection  —  Over a three-year period ending in 2005, the FBI collected intimate information about the lives of a population roughly the size of Bethesda's — 52,000 — and stored it in an intelligence database accessible to about 12,000 federal …

On Bush Veto Threat of Military Funding Bill  —  President Bush's Iraq policies weaken our military's readiness, dishonor our nation's promises to our veterans, and fail to hold the Iraqi government accountable for overdue reforms.  —  By threatening to veto the House's military funding bill …

Warming Report to Warn of Coming Drought  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water, top scientists will say next month at a meeting in Belgium.

In Romney's Bid, His Wallet Opens to the Right  —  In the months before announcing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts contributed tens of thousands of dollars of his personal fortune to several conservative groups in a position to influence his image on the right.

Says Zell: Military shortages, Social Security crisis, and illegal immigration all linked to abortion  —  It hasn't gotten widespread play yet, but former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller made a little news this week in Macon when he declared that abortion has contributed to the military's manpower shortage …

Kasparov, Building Opposition to Putin  —  GARRY KASPAROV, the former world chess champion, took a pen and notebook and diagramed the protesters' march through St. Petersburg on March 3.  Like a general reliving a battle or a player analyzing a winning combination, he sketched Uprising Square …

Privatized Walter Reed Workforce Gets Scrutiny  —  Army Facility Lost Dozens Of Maintenance Workers  —  The scandal over treatment of outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has focused attention on the Army's decision to privatize the facilities support workforce at the hospital …

300  —  My less political friends were mostly focused on the gay undertones, but from a foreign policy perspective it's hard to avoid noticing that this is a movie wherein your heros battle the insidious forces of [Iran] Persia.  At one point, Xerxes even unleashes a rhinoscerous of mass destruction.

AGAIN, MADRID has taken to the streets in protest against Zapatero's anti-terror policies:  —  The rally is organized by the conservative Popular Party, now in opposition, and follow 65 smaller demonstrations across the country's cities yesterday evening.  They're all against Zapatero's decision …

House Dems face uphill battle over Iraq  —  WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), her party deeply divided and holding only a narrow majority, faces long odds in passing legislation that would bring troops home from Iraq before the 2008 presidential election.

Dangerous Ruling  —  IN OVERTURNING the District of Columbia's long-standing ban on handguns yesterday, a federal appeals court turned its back on nearly 70 years of Supreme Court precedent to give a new and dangerous meaning to the Second Amendment.  If allowed to stand …