Bush's Monica problem: the Gonzales mess  —  Gonzales, the president's lawyer and Texas buddy, is twisting slowly in the wind, facing a vote of no confidence from the Senate.  —  The United States Department of Justice has not always been above politics.  John F. Kennedy, after all …

Shackled in the war on terror  —  The absconding of three people on control orders because of suspicion of their involvement in terrorism has, once again, thrown into sharp relief the debate about terrorism and civil liberty.  Within the next few weeks we will publish new proposals on anti-terror laws.

I Lost My Son to a War I Oppose.  We Were Both Doing Our Duty.  —  Parents who lose children, whether through accident or illness, inevitably wonder what they could have done to prevent their loss.  When my son was killed in Iraq earlier this month at age 27, I found myself pondering my responsibility for his death.

Al-Qaeda chief urges Iraqis to export jihad  —  THE deputy leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged supporters in Iraq to extend their "holy war" to other Middle Eastern countries.  —  In a letter sent to the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq in the past few weeks, Zawahiri claims …

Antiwar base directs wrath at Democrats  —  The bitter battle between the Democratic Congress and President Bush over Iraq war funding may be over for now, but another fight has erupted between Democrats and members of the antiwar base who say they were betrayed by their party.

Tehran confident ahead of US talks  —  By Gareth Smyth in Tehran and Guy Dinmore in Washington  —  Iran enters talks with the US in Baghdad on Monday confident that the situation in Iraq is working in its favour but wary that Washington may not have abandoned hopes for regime change in Iran or may plan to bomb its nuclear facilities.

Clueless  —  Of all the people who deserve some blame for the debacle in Iraq, don't forget the American public.  Today, about two-thirds of Americans oppose the war.  But back in March 2003, when United States troops stormed into Iraq, nearly three out of four Americans supported the invasion.

Reporting from Iraq...and keeping an eye on Afghanistan  —  Counterterrorism analyst Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is embedded in Iraq.  Read his latest dispatch from outside the wire: Patrolling Yarmouk.  —  Outside the Wire's J.D. Johannes, embedded with the Black Lions of Task Force 1-28 in Baghdad …

Unflattering Books Cause Hardly a Ripple  —  Politics as Usual As Sen. Clinton Traverses Iowa  —  As Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) campaigned across Iowa this weekend, she was asked about the war in Iraq, illegal immigration and even whether her husband, former president Bill Clinton …

U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad  —  Blackwater Employees Were Involved in Two Shooting Incidents in Past Week  —  Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week …

SHEEN RETHINKS NUTTY 9/11 FILM  —  SUPPORT for the loopy 9/11 documentary "Loose Change" - which argues that the World Trade Center terror attack was part of a secret U.S. government conspiracy - is quickly losing steam.  —  A source tells us Charlie Sheen "is having second thoughts" …

Borger Predicts 'Mass Resignation' Of House Members Due To Stricter Ethics Standards  —  On Thursday, the House passed new ethics legislation "that would penalize lawmakers who receive a wide range of favors from special interests, and would require lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they collect and deliver to lawmakers."

Michael Moore's Math: 'Sicko,' Castro and the '120 Years Club'  —  CUBA works hard to jam American TV signals and keep out decadent Hollywood films.  But it's a good bet that Fidel Castro's government will turn a blind eye to bootleg copies of "Sicko," Michael Moore's newest movie, if they show up on the streets of Havana.

Kristol: Bush 'Was Furious' Over NYT Report Of 2008 Withdrawal  —  The New York Times reported this weekend that the Bush administration is developing "concepts for reducing American combat forces in Iraq by as much as half next year, according to senior administration officials in the midst of the internal debate."

Cheney delivers call to arms at West Point  —  VP warns graduates that 'nobody can promise us we won't be hit again'  —  WEST POINT, N.Y. - Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday urged the 978 new graduates of the U.S. Military Academy to provide leadership to troops fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan.