Top general may propose pullbacks  —  Petraeus is expected to tell Congress that Iraqis can assume duties in some areas, freeing U.S. troops for other uses.  —  WASHINGTON —  Intent on demonstrating progress in Iraq, the top U.S. general there is expected by Bush administration officials …

Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist'  —  U.S. Moving Against Revolutionary Guard  —  The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials …

HMMMM EVEN LESS RIGHT.  —  From the previous post, reader Hoefer remembers and tracks down something veddy intahrezting … Here are the two pics and it sure looks like the same lady, and the same idiotic claim.  Heh. … Anyone know the photog or official agency and caption for this one?

How Karl Rove lost a generation of Republicans  —  There is an old joke that campaign veterans toss around war rooms, bars and BS sessions.  We say there are people who have worked in campaigns who say that they have lost some - and we call those folks operatives, managers, strategists …

MORE RUDY....Hell, James Joyner is a conservative, so I'd expect him to be at least a little more sympathetic toward Rudy Giuliani's recent foreign policy manifesto than me.  But no. The former Giuliani fan, after watching America's Mayor in action for a few months, has changed his opinion slightly:

Balance of Terror  —  BAGHDAD - The American soldier sitting next to me flipped open his Zippo lighter and gloomily lit a cigarette.  "Do you know why this base isn't attacked by insurgents?" he said.  —  I assumed it was because his area of operations, in the Graya'at neighborhood …

New Hampshire Primary: Clinton Holds Solid Lead  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary shows New York Senator Hillary Clinton leading Illinois Senator Barack Obama by fifteen percentage points, 37% to 22%.

U.S. to Expand Domestic Use Of Spy Satellites  —  The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S.  —  The decision, made three months ago …

Chávez to Propose Removing His Term Limits  —  President Hugo Chávez will unveil a project to change the Constitution on Wednesday that is expected to allow him to be re-elected indefinitely, a move that would enhance his authority to accelerate a socialist-inspired transformation of Venezuelan society.

Obama Says He Can Unite U.S. 'More Effectively' Than Clinton  —  Drawing a sharp contrast with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama said in an interview that he has the capacity she may lack to unify the country and move it out of what he called "ideological gridlock."

Exclusive: U.S. Studying Two Dozen 'Clusters' of Possible Homegrown Terrorists  —  Brian Ross, Richard Esposito & Maddy Sauer Report:  —  U.S. law enforcement officials say they have identified more than two dozen "clusters" of young Muslim men in the northeast United States who are on a path …

U.S. agents accused of aiding Islamist scheme  —  A criminal investigations report says several U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees are accused of aiding Islamic extremists with identification fraud and of exploiting the visa system for personal gain.

Don Imus Sued by Rutgers Basketball Player  —  Star Center Kia Vaughn Names Imus, NBC, CBS in Civil Suit  —  Don Imus is facing his first lawsuit from a player on the Rutgers Women's Basketball team for derogatory comments that cost him his job as a radio host in April, ABC News has learned.