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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
A Date With a Dangerous Mind Scott MacLeod Time Face to face with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the man whose swagger is stirring fears of warwith the U.S. How Iran's Populist Lost His Popularity Azadeh Moaveni Time With prices rising and the economy stagnating, Iranians view their President as less a national hero than the latest in a long line of ineffectual bureaucrats Iran's Freeze on Enrichment Could Wait, France Suggests Elaine Sciolino The New York Times Clearly, Mr. Chirac's remarks took Bush administration officials by surprise The Face Of Haditha Sally B. Donnelly Time Frank Wuterich led the Marines accused of the massacre in Iraq. He talks here for the first time Hezbollah gained on intelligence front Mohamad Bazzi Newsday The Boston Globe Hezbollah guerrillas were able to hack into Israeli radio communications during last month's battles in south Lebanon, an intelligence breakthrough that helped them thwart Israeli tank assaults Shock and Awe in Lebanon William M. Arkin The Washington Post Israeli bombers did not fly over Beirut and unleash loads of bombs. Each individual building was the quarry; the intent was there, and the technology existed, to spare the rest New Chief Is Critical Of Barriers Within CIA Walter Pincus The Washington Post The CIA's new director, Gen. Michael V. Hayden, told agency employees yesterday that their intelligence activities are too segmented, saying that operations officers who collect intelligence need to work more closely with the analysts Bush Detainee Plan Adds to World Doubts Of U.S., Powell Says Karen DeYoung and Peter Ba The Washington Post Colin L. Powell said yesterday that he decided to publicly oppose the Bush administration's proposed rules for the treatment of terrorism suspects in part because the plan would add to growing doubts about whether the United States adheres to its own moral code Q&A: Sen. Lindsey Graham on Torture Michael Isikoff Newsweek Sen. Lindsey Graham discusses why he is so opposed to President Bush's plans on military tribunals and why the United States should never sanction torture The Prisoners Speak Jonathan Raban The N.Y. Review of Books Most moviegoers whom I've watched leaving the cinema after seeing The Road to Guantánamo have been wordless and whey-faced, numbed, as I was, by the film's distressingly vivid recreation of brutal interrogations in the American detention camp on Cuba's south coast Prison Radicalization: Are Terrorist Cells Forming in U.S. Cell Blocks? Hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Brazil's Lula poised to earn four more years at the helm Andrew Downie The Christian Science Monitor Despite a corruption scandal in his party, Brazilians are set to reelect President Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 1 Venezuela tightens Iran links with trade pacts Phil Gunson The Financial Times (UK) Hugo Chávez's efforts to build an anti-US coalition received a boost on Monday following a visit by Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's president, to Venezuela and the signing of trade agreements A Poor Yield For Afghans' War on Drugs Pamela Constable The Washington Post Foreign backers of the government of President Hamid Karzai are growing impatient with the continuing production and trafficking In Kabul schools, fear of Taliban return Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor This recently opened school - along with many other language and computer schools in the capital - would be closed; women would be forced again to wear burqas Russia's Downward Spiral Rajan Menon and Alexander Motyl Newsweek What the West must live with is a weak Russia. And history shows that states that talk loudly while carrying a small stick often overreach, creating problems for themselves and others Online survey axed after most reject Chinese identity Jonathan Watts The Guardian (UK) Chinese authorities have shut down an online survey that found most respondents would prefer a different nationality if they were born again Al Gore Gives Policy Address at NYU on Solving the Climate Crisis New York University Many scientists are now warning that we are moving closer to several "tipping points" that could - within as little as 10 years - make it impossible for us to avoid irretrievable damage to the planet's habitability Aid: Can It Work? Nicholas D. Kristof The N.Y. Review of Books It's easy to build a clinic, but harder to ensure that doctors and nurses actually report for work in the days that follow	Poll finds rebound in Bush approval Jill Lawrence and Susan Page USA Today Amid falling gas prices and a two-week drive to highlight his administration's efforts to fight terrorism, President Bush's approval rating has risen to 44% Democrats Meander in a New New Direction - washingtonpost.com Dana Milbank The Washington Post Among the party's campaign slogans this year: "Culture of Corruption," "Culture of Cronyism," "Do-Nothing Congress," "Rubber-Stamp Congress," "Together, We Can Do Better," "Together, America Can Do Better" and, most recently, "Six for '06" Cheney: The Fatal Touch Joan Didion The N.Y. Review of Books The question of where the President gets the notions known to the nation as "I' the decider" and within the White House as "the unitary executive theory" leads prett fast to the blackout zone that is the Vice President and his office McCain Stand Comes at a Price Janet Hook and Richard Simon The Los Angeles Times Conservative activists are heaping criticism on Sen. John McCain for fighting President Bush over proposed rules for the interrogation of terrorism suspects, a dispute that has reopened long-standing divisions The denial industry George Monbiot The Guardian (UK) For years, a network of fake citizens' groups and bogus scientific bodies has been claiming that science of global warming is inconclusive. They set back action on climate change by a decade. But who funded them? Editorial: Congress Bustles With Busywork Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray The Washington Post While Frist tries to decide between the frying pan and the fire, the Senate will keep busy with consideration of the Oman Free Trade Agreement and the nomination of Alice S. Fisher to serve as assistant attorney general
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Editorial: Tortured Debate National Review It is essential that this wartime Congress preserve the CIA's ability to question jihadists aggressively - and that McCain & Co. lose their battle to destroy one of our most important tools in the War on Terror McCain's Dubious High Ground Rich Lowry National Review John McCain and his band of Republican rebels defying President Bush on the issue of interrogation have a strange attachment to confused argumentation When Miranda Met Osama Brendan Miniter The Wall Street Journal Will terrorists get lawyers the moment they're captured on the battlefield?	New Bill Would Defend Marriage From Sharks The Onion Critics also complained that the language in the bill regarding jellyfish was too vague, leaving a number of loopholes whereby they could escape prosecution Poll: In Match-up Between Hillary and Kerry, Most Democrats Would Choose Suicide Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report "Throwing yourself in front of a speeding city bus" was the most popular means of suicide at 22%, with "jumping off the roof of a really tall building or bridge" coming in second at 17% Tom Toles Well, it got him to read the paper

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Ties to GOP Trumped Know-How Among Staff Sent to Rebuild Iraq Rajiv Chandrasekaran The Washington Post O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade No More of Their Tortured Excuses Fareed Zakaria Newsweek Powell explained to me his deep concerns about safeguarding American troops if "we start monkeying around with the common understanding of the Conventions" The Battle for Guantánamo Tim Golden The New York Times Despite the intense criticism it has drawn, the detention camp at Guantánamo has proved one of the more resilient institutions of the Bush administration's fight against terror The View From Guantánamo Abu Bakker Qassim The New York Times I was locked up and mistreated for being in the wrong place at the wrong time during America's war in Afghanistan. Like hundreds of Guantánamo detainees, I was never a terrorist or a soldier. I was never even on a battlefield Editorial: A License to Abuse The Washington Post Allow us to elaborate, again, exactly what Mr. Bush means by "the program." He's talking about the practice of sequestering terrorist suspects indefinitely and without charge in secret foreign locations and holding them incommunicado even from the International Red Cross Editorial: Bush Untethered The New York Times We have lost count of the number of times he has said Americans have to choose between protecting the nation precisely the way he wants, and not protecting it at all Editorial: No Rubber Stamp for Bush The Los Angeles Times The president deserves even more resistance to his method of waging war on terror A Bold Upstart With CIA Roots Greg Miller The Los Angeles Times In the burgeoning field of intelligence contractors, an especially aggressive upstart is Abraxas Corp., a privately held company that has assembled a deep roster of CIA veterans IRS Orders All Saints to Yield Documents on '04 Political Races Louis Sahagun The Los Angeles Times Antiwar remarks at All Saints in Pasadena were made two days before the 2004 election. The church is ordered to hand over records Peacekeeping Grows, Strains U.N. Colum Lynch The Washington Post The United Nations is set to field its largest peacekeeping enterprise in its 61-year history, with more than 100,000 troops and police to be deployed by year's end The place is a mess, but it beats Plan B David Rieff The Los Angeles Times The hard fact is that, despite its fallen reputation and its many failures, the U.N.'s future is perfectly viable because no one has a good alternative to propose The World's Elder Statesman James Traub The Los Angeles Times The U.N. Annan inherited was a protector of states and their prerogatives; the one he wishes, somewhat forlornly, to leave behind would be a protector of individuals - even against the state So this is World War III, and we're going it alone? Cragg Hines The Houston Chronicle Perhaps you'll care when you're in the foxhole outside Tehran alone with Newt Gingrich The Fight to Rebuild Lebanon Megan K. Stack The Los Angeles Times Sunni governments vie with Shiite-ruled Iran and Hezbollah to prove who is doing more US, China rivalry spurs debate in India Jehangir S. Pocha The Boston Globe A struggle has developed among India's power elite over which path to follow, toward Beijing or Washington Global Gun Rights? Joshua Kurlantzick The New York Times Around the world, the N.R.A. is finding that a rights-based approach translates into many languages	GOP senators heading battle with Bush are heavy hitters / McCain, Graham, Warner have deep military credentials Jennifer A. Dlouhy Hearst Newspapers The San Francisco Chronicle The three Republican senators leading the fight against the Bush administration's plan for prosecuting suspected terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay have impressive military credentials Tribunal Dispute Could Ruin GOP Strategy Jonathan Weisman The Washington Post Instead of fighting Democrats, Republicans find themselves in the middle of an intraparty struggle between an embattled president and two of the most respected figures in their party Joe Klein: In Pennsylvania, it's the Admiral Vs. the Firefighter Joe Klein Time The Republican, a former volunteer fire chief, has been in power for 20 years but now faces a formidable candidate Hollywood and the Dems' Battle for the House Howard Fineman and Holly Bailey Newsweek Can Rahm Emanuel deliver the House? His hotshot Hollywood brother is trying to help close the deal
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
How the Presidency Regained Its Balance John Yoo The New York Times To his critics, Mr. Bush is a "King George" bent on an "imperial presidency." But the inescapable fact is that war shifts power to the branch most responsible for its waging	My Satirical Self Wyatt Mason The New York Times Why is this man snorting? I am doing so with relief, saved, as I was, from having to endure another reasonable argument in unreasonable times Jeff Danziger Once again, I am opposed by cowards and idiots

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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
September 11 stunted America's political growth Mark Lilla The New Republic "September 11 was a wake-up call." No, it was not. It was a hellish lullaby--a brutal sedative. Five years ago, the most powerful nation on earth fell into a slumber Why Syria May Be the Real Victim of the Attack Scott MacLeod Time The Syrian regime's own long war with Islamic extremists is heating up again Time to engage Syria? F. Michael Maloof The Washington Times The CIA jealously coveted its own exclusive back channel to Syria. So the CIA made every effort to scuttle the Syrian opening of a back channel to U.S. policymakers Taliban adopting Iraq-style jihad Scott Peterson The Christian Science Monitor Among the keys to the Taliban resurgence - which is sparking lethal violence on a scale unknown here for almost five years - are crucial lessons drawn from Iraq Taliban exposes cracks in Nato Simon Tisdall The Guardian (UK) Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's public plea yesterday for up to 2,500 additional soldiers to fight alongside British, Canadian and Dutch forces in southern Afghanistan has highlighted deep internal strains Can Lame Ducks Forge a Middle East Peace? Tony Karon Time From Blair to Haniyeh, all the politicians involved in the latest round of talking have domestic political reasons for signaling progress, but it's unlikely that any has the necessary combination of political will and authority Editorial: Turning around Turkish opinion The Christian Science Monitor Give someone the cold shoulder long enough, and the message sinks in. That appears to be happening with NATO member Turkey. Sensing disregard from the West, the Turks themselves are losing interest Kurd's Testimony Includes Taunt for Hussein: `You Are in a Cage' Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times A Kurdish villager mocked Saddam Hussein in court Tuesday as the man recalled the disappearance of his relatives during a 1980s military campaign in northern Iraq Democrats Call NSA's Input To Senate Panel Inappropriate Walter Pincus The Washington Post On July 27, shortly after most members of the committee were briefed on the controversial surveillance program, the NSA supplied the panel's chairman, Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), with "a set of administration approved, unclassified talking points for the members to use" Civil liberties crackdown casts long shadow over Chinese leader's visit to Britain Jonathan Watts The Guardian (UK) The Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, flew to London yesterday amid increasing international criticism of his government's crackdown on lawyers, journalists, NGOs and civil liberties activists Antique Autocrats Matthew Quirk The Atlantic Fidel Castro ruled Cuba for forty-seven uninterrupted years-making him the world's most tenured autocrat-before his grip slipped in August. Below are the next four longest-ruling living dictators	Lincoln Chafee's Criticism of Bush Foreign Policy -- Including John Bolton -- Gets Boost Steve Clemons The Huffington Post This Chafee victory is also a potential sign that Republicans who "look like Bush" are in trouble -- and that Republicans who are pragmatists and not ideologues may be on the comeback The Chafee Victory: What Now? Hotline On Call Considering how successful the personal attacks on Laffey were in this primary, no doubt the GOP will be mimicking the tactic in other states Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening' Peter Baker The Washington Post President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil" Dull and duller Bruce Reed Slate The most overlooked reason for Bush's lackluster Republican support was on full display in his Oval Office address last night: He has become boring Jersey Turns, Dems Panic; Torricelli, Anyone? Steve Kornacki The N.Y. Observer A powerful clue that U.S. Senator Robert Menendez might ultimately be forced to withdraw from his bid for a full term in New Jersey emerged last Friday Md. Democrats Are Looking Good, Which Has Them A Bit Worried Robert Barnes The Washington Post To a great extent, the outcome of the election and the future of partisan politics in Maryland will depend on how Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, the U.S. Senate nominee, distance themselves from the GOP's national image The Big Five: Hot House Race Updates Hotline On Call With No Ideas, The GOP Seeks to Scare Harold Meyerson The Washington Post Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that Republicans were boasting that they were the party of ideas? It's the (Tanking) Economy, Stupid Barbara Ehrenreich AlterNet Conservatives say struggling Americans are just too dumb to grasp the wonders of our 'knowledge-based economy'
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
The "W" Is Not for "Wobble" Rich Lowry National Review Bush's faith in the rightness of his strategy in the broader war is deep-seated - it is, indeed, a product of faith How to Win by Losing Ramesh Ponnuru The New York Times Do Republicans really want to go into 2008 running a unified government? The last time an election maintained unified party control from one presidency to another was in 1928 Democrats in power? Bruce Bartlett The Washington Times More than likely, not much of anything will change if the Democrats get control of the House or even if they get the Senate, too Democracy, Our Best Protector Max Boot The Los Angeles Times Even if the president remains personally committed to his freedom agenda, the bulk of the U.S. government is not. Realpolitikers think that's just as well Enact the President's Code for Military Commissions Andrew C. McCarthy National Review The universal, reciprocal chivalry that guided warriors, and nation-states, when young John McCain's unflinching valor blazed its legend on the honor-roll of American heroes no longer obtains It's Academic! Michael Tanji The Weekly Standard Why the new Senate report on Iraq fails to take the intelligence situation seriously	Refreshingly Honest Crate and Barrel Catalog Descriptions Kyle Killen McSweeney's With this, you don't even have to plug it in, and your friends will be too sick with envy to eat anything anyway. Bunch of anorexic morons Sweat-Stain-Dating Technology Unlocks Age Of Assistant Managers The Onion Business archaeologists from the Northern Illinois College Of Applied Business Sciences have developed a sodium-dating technique they said will more accurately determine the age of the world's assistant managers Bush Vows to Google Bin Laden Andy Borowitz The Borowitz Report The President's decision to use what he called "the most powerful search engine on the Internets" sent a different message Tom Toles He never forgets Tony Auth If we had it to do over...

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Monday, September 11, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Editorial: 9/11/06 The New York Times When we measure the possibilities created by 9/11 against what we have actually accomplished, it is clear that we have found one way after another to compound the tragedy Losing the War on Terror Ahmed Rashid The Washington Post Guerrillas are learning faster than Western armies, and the West makes appalling strategic mistakes while the extremists make brilliant tactical moves Terrorism’s Grand Tour The New York Times The Op-Ed page asked writers who know some of these cities well to describe the events and consider their aftermath One Million Ways to Die Ryan Singel Wired Comparing official mortality data with the number of Americans who have been killed inside the United States by terrorism since the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma reveals that scores of threats are far more likely to kill an American Afghan Experiment Marked by Progress And Disillusionment Pamela Constable The Washington Post Since late 2001, the country of 25 million people has undergone an ambitious experiment, backed by international troops, expertise and aid, to bring modern democracy to an impoverished, deeply conservative Muslim society How drugs brought the Taliban back to life Johann Hari JohannHari.com The Taliban revival is directly, intimately related to the crop eradication programme. It could not have happened if the US was not aggressively destroying crops The Taliban will be back in power if the west doesn't narrow its ambitions Max Hastings The Guardian (UK) Nato's intervention in Afghanistan has been a disaster. But withdrawal would send the country back to the dark ages Editorial: Wobbly Diplomacy The Washington Post What happened to the support that the Bush administration said it had for sanctions against Iran? The rising might of the Middle East super power Ray Takeyh The Financial Times (UK) In coming weeks, the UN will issue further invocations condemning Iran, sanctions may be contemplated and the US will issue its veiled threats of military strike. Iran’s nuclear plans will meanwhile continue apace Worried CIA Officers Buy Legal Insurance R. Jeffrey Smith The Washington Post CIA counterterrorism officers have signed up in growing numbers for a government-reimbursed, private insurance plan that would pay their civil judgments and legal expenses if they are sued or charged with criminal wrongdoing Daughter of the Constitution Nat Hentoff The Village Voice Judge Taylor has resoundingly told the National Security Agency and the president that they are forbidden to use their surveillance powers in ways prohibited by the Constitution Editorial: Nothing Less Than Justice The Dallas Morning News The pride of the American justice system is transparency, even when it faces the unprecedented challenge of prosecuting terrorist conspirators during an ongoing conflict German Tap Lessons Niels C. Sorrells Foreign Policy Germany has been eavesdropping on its own citizens for decades. Yet its vast system of surveillance hasn’t helped the country convict terrorists or detect terror plots. Why does the United States think it can do better? Hidden Depths to U.S. Monitoring Josh Meyer The Los Angeles Times The scope of domestic surveillance has steadily expanded since 9/11. But lawmakers and privacy experts complain of too little information on it Seeking justice Nat Hentoff The Washington Times Military lawyers -- the JAGs -- were kept out of the particular civilian political decision-making in 2002 and 2003 that ignored the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Had they not been excluded, the abuses at Abu Ghraib and other prisons are not likely to have happened	The Middle Is a Bad Place to Be Joe Klein Time This election may provide a historic completion to the sordid business of ideological realignment that began with the decimation of the Democratic Party in the South Brash GOP challenger presses Chafee in R.I. Rick Klein The Boston Globe Late polls suggest contradictory outcomes -- one has Laffey up 17 points, another Chafee up 14 -- an indication of how difficult it is to gauge a GOP primary in an overwhelmingly Democratic state Relying on Write-Ins May Cost DeLay Seat Lianne Hart The Los Angeles Times The Texas GOP is fielding a candidate for his unexpired House term. But her name does not appear on the general election ballot Are you a Republican political operative... Talking Points Memo Nelson has the unique distinction of being tied to two of the biggest cases of Republican campaign corruption in the Bush era ABC's Untrue Path John Fund The Wall Street Journal It's especially iffy to take dramatic license in telling the story of events in which many of the principal players are still living, such as 9/11 or President Reagan's administration
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
An NRO Symposium on 9/11 National Review The Islamofascists seek to advance their agenda of global conquest via totalitarian techniques aimed at subjugating — by force, if necessary — first and foremost anti-Islamist Muslims and then the rest of us “Dad, What Did You Do in the War?” David French National Review Why would a 36-year-old lawyer with a beautiful wife and two young kids decide to join the United States Army Reserve? It’s no surprise that the answer starts with 9/11 Patriotism Faded John O’Sullivan National Review If dissent can be patriotic, it is not invariably so. After all, treason is the highest form of dissent Rules of Evidence Thomas Joscelyn The Weekly Standard A new Senate report on Iraq and al Qaeda ignores everything which gets in the way of its conclusions Solidarity Christopher Hitchens The Wall Street Journal "We"--and our allies--simply have to become more ruthless and more experienced The threat then and now Ed Royce The Washington Times Unlike the Clinton administration, we have taken the fight to al Qaeda and are winning	This Modern World Tom Tomorrow Salon The unbiased and absolutely true story of why Bill Clinton is entirely to blame for 9/11! Tom Toles Inflation!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs	U.S. Politics
Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold' Dana Priest and Ann Scott Tyson The Washington Post The clandestine U.S. commandos whose job is to capture or kill Osama bin Laden have not received a credible lead in more than two years The age of horrorism (part one) Martin Amis The Observer (UK) The story is grotesque and incredible - but then so are its consequences. And let us keep on telling ourselves how grotesque and incredible it is, our current reality, so unforeseeable, so altogether unknowable, even from the vantage of the late Nineties 10 Ways to Avoid the Next 9/11 The New York Times The Op-Ed page asked 10 people with experience in security and counterterrorism to answer the following question: What is one major reason the United States has not suffered a major attack since 2001, and what is the one thing you would recommend the nation do in order to avoid attacks in the future? At a Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics David Johnston The New York Times The interrogation of Mr. Zubaydah was fraught with sharp disputes, debates about the legality and utility of harsh interrogation methods, and a rupture between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the C.I.A. that has yet to heal Darfur Trembles as Peacekeepers’ Exit Looms Lydia Polgreen The New York Times “What happened in Rwanda, it will happen here,” said Sheik Abdullah Muhammad Ali, who fled here from a nearby village seeking the safety that he hoped the presence of about 200 African Union peacekeepers would bring Sudan's Srebrenica Moment John McCain and Bob Dole The Washington Post Urgent action is required in the coming hours and days In Search of My Father's Afghanistan Saira Shah The Washington Post Afghan culture is hardly stuck in the 13th century. Since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, the artistic energies the regime suppressed have exploded, sometimes in unexpected forms The Taliban, Regrouped And Rearmed Peter Bergen The Washington Post Echoing all other U.S. officers I interviewed in Afghanistan, Sturek emphasized that the Taliban threat required a political solution, not a military one, and that expanding the U.S. presence and reconstruction efforts into remote areas would win the long-term conflict How US merchants of fear sparked a $130bn bonanza Paul Harris The Observer (UK) With so much money on offer and such riches being made, there is a powerful economic incentive to exploit the threat to America From Baltimore Suburbs to a Secret CIA Prison Eric Rich and Dan Eggen The Washington Post Family Learned Last Week That Man Was Among 'High-Value' Terrorism Suspects Moved to Guantanamo Adding Up the Ounces of Prevention Scott Shane and Lowell Bergman The New York Times As time has passed without a new attack, the voices of skeptics who believe that 9/11 was more a fluke than a harbinger are beginning to be heard The Roots of Hezbollah's Clout Lie in Iran Borzou Daragahi The Los Angeles Times The ties between the militant group and Tehran are complex and go back decades. For many in Lebanon, it's a beneficial partnership Why the Numbers Don't Add Up in Iraq Patrick J. McDonnell The Los Angeles Times The Pentagon's fondness for secrecy along with partisan agendas in Baghdad often lead to contortions with death tolls and other details 10 Questions For Gareth Peirce Jessica Carsen Time There is every mechanism already available to the state to properly detect and detain and investigate. What is not just unacceptable, but plain wrong, is to say that a person suspected of terrorism deserves the rule book being torn up Russia and the Mideast: Talk, No Walk Steven Lee Myers The New York Times IS Russia the new powerbroker — even peacemaker — of the Middle East? It certainly aspires to be Swedes set for a swing to the right Alex Duval Smith The Observer (UK) The election could see voters reject the welfare model built by the social democrats over 65 years The Fall of Tony Blair Stryker McGuire Newsweek The problem is not the overall direction of the New Labour agenda, which Blair pursued in partnership with his Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. The greater concern is the effect of Blair's decline on the party's popular appeal US accused of covert operations in Somalia Anthony Barnett and Patrick Smith The Observer (UK) Emails suggest that the CIA knew of plans by private military companies to breach UN rules	Cheney’s Power No Longer Goes Unquestioned David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt The New York Times In retrospect Mr. Cheney’s power was at its peak in 2003 and 2004, before Iraq’s insurgency flared, before the abuses at Abu Ghraib were revealed, before the setbacks in Congress and at the Supreme Court Why Bush's Security Pitch May Not Work This Time Mike Allen Time Democrats, having largely steered clear of national-security issues in the 2002 and 2004 campaigns for fear their war reservations and civil-liberties concerns would brand them as effete, are embracing the topic, and they appear to have found their voice with a steady insistence that Iraq has been mishandled How Dems Plan to Exploit War Worries Jonathan Darman and Evan Thomas Newsweek Bring It On: Can the Dems exploit public worry about the war and retake Capitol Hill? A case study in Virginia In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza The Washington Post Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies 2 Georgia Races May Threaten Democrats' Struggle for Power Richard Fausset The Los Angeles Times Democratic U.S. Reps. Jim Marshall of Macon and John Barrow of Savannah are facing hearty challenges from a pair of former Republican congressmen with name recognition and the ability to raise big money To Hold Senate, G.O.P. Bolsters Its Most Liberal Adam Nagourney The New York Times In an extraordinary pre-emptive announcement, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has said it will concede Rhode Island to the Democrats should Stephen Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, defeat Mr. Chafee Hillary Cover Vote: the Results Time By mail and online, the "love her" camp has an edge
The Right Wing	Funny stuff
Yes, We Are Better Prepared John D. Negroponte The Washington Post Through a new focus and better techniques, U.S. intelligence is collecting more information, analyzing it more rigorously and sharing it more broadly Editorial: September 11 and the Clintonistas The Washington Times Executives at ABC began wimping out as soon as Bill Clinton and some other Democrats said, "dare you" Judgment at Guantanamo David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey The Wall Street Journal The Guantanamo detainees are not entitled to be tried by courts martial unless Congress specifically says so. Congress should now join the president and declare explicitly that they are not so entitled 'Path' missed real 9/11 story John Podhoretz The N.Y. Post The portrait of Albright is an unacceptable revision of recent history and an unfair mark on a public servant who, no matter her shortcomings, doesn't deserve to be remembered by millions of Americans as the inadvertent (and truculent) savior of Osama bin Laden	Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis Does you find it?!

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs

1. Sudan’s Offensive Comes at Key Time
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090400100_pf.html
   Craig Timberg
   The Washington Post
   The Sudanese government has dramatically intensified the war in Darfur in a bid to finish off a tenacious, three-year-old rebellion before a U.N. peacekeeping force can deploy there
2. Editorial: Double or quits for Nato in Afghanistan
   http://www.ft.com/cms/s/60b9d70c-3c7a-11db-9c97-0000779e2340.html
   The Financial Times (UK)
   The rash of recent casualties, particularly among British and Canadian troops, has highlighted the need for a significantly larger and better-equipped Nato force
3. The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers
   http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/41083/
   Charlie Cray
   AlterNet
   Halliburton has become synonymous with war profiteering, but there are lots of other greedy fingers in the pie. We name names on 10 of the worst
4. Alarm grows over missions as three more soldiers die
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,1865037,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1
   Richard Norton-Taylor and Declan Walsh
   The Guardian (UK)
   British military facing ‘more active role than predicted’ in Iraq and Afghanistan
5. Across Palestinian territories, support for Hamas erodes
   http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0905/p05s01-wome.html
   Joshua Mitnick
   The Christian Science Monitor
   The militant group that swept the polls in January may form a coalition government with the opposition Fatah Party
6. Afghan Symbol for Change Becomes a Symbol of Failure
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?ei=5088&en=3c5dce293cc0b7ca&ex=1315108800&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
   David Rodhe
   The New York Times
   An Afghan city known as “Little America” is today the epicenter of a Taliban resurgence and an explosion in drug cultivation
7. Pakistan: Friend or Foe?
   http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-harrison5sep05,1,7249622.story?track=rss
   Selig S. Harrison
   The Washington Post
   Pervez Musharraf is supposedly a key U.S. ally in the “war on terror.” But is he, in fact, more of a liability than an asset
8. Ice core evidence of human impact on CO2 in air
   http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060904/ts_nm/science_co2_dc
   Reuters
   Yahoo!
   Air from the oldest ice core confirms human activity has increased the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere to levels not seen for hundreds of thousands of years
9. Don’t be fooled by this reform: the IMF is still the rich world’s viceroy
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1864832,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=27
   George Monbiot
   The Guardian (UK)
   What will be passed off as a democratisation is in fact a way of ensuring the poor global majority continue to have no say
10. Op-Chart: The Toll of Small Arms
    http://graphics10.nytimes.com/images/2006/09/04/opinion/05opchart.gif
    Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Rachel Stohl, and Mgmt. Design
    The New York Times
    Suffering will continue until governments recognize the obvious — that the vast majority of illicitly traded arms begin as legally produced weapon
11. Measures to keep peace in Congo draw fire
    http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0905/p04s02-woaf.html
    Tristan McConnell
    The Christian Science Monitor
    Critics say the deals run contrary to the UN’s mandate by letting war criminals go free and undermining long-term peace

U.S. Politics

1. ’Mortgage Moms’ May Star in Midterm Vote
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090401108_pf.html
   Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Chris Cillizza
   The Washington Post
   In a year when politics is being roiled by angry debates over the Iraq war and immigration, it might seem odd to imagine the midterm elections being waged over square footage and closet space
2. Security Is Atop GOP’s Agenda
   http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-congress5sep05,1,3310608,full.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
   Maura Reynolds
   The Los Angeles Times
   It’s going to be “Security September” on Capitol Hill
3. The Senate Line: Dems Still Stuck at Five
   http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/09/the_senate_line_dems_stuck_at.html
   Chris Cillizza
   The Washington Post
   At the moment, five Republican incumbents appear to be in serious danger. But there doesn’t appear—yet—to be a sixth seat to put Democrats over the top
4. Voters are anti-incumbent and angry, new poll finds
   http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/04/poll.election/index.html
   CNN
   A majority -- 55 percent—said they are more likely to back a challenger in races on this year’s ballot. Such anti-incumbent sentiment is higher than the 48 percent recorded as “pro-challenger” in a similar survey in 1994
5. A Political Blueprint With Room to Build On
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090401120_pf.html
   Jonathan Weisman
   The Washington Post
   Modest in scope, perhaps even timid, “The Plan” is subtitled “Big Ideas for America,” but it is not the product of Newt Gingrich-type visionaries from the political left. It is the creation of Emanuel and Reed, two top aides from Bill Clinton’s White House who learned the power of small ball and the perils of swinging for the fences
6. The Rise of the Lincoln Democrats
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090400701_pf.html
   E.J. Dionne, Jr.
   The Washington Post
   To put it in historical terms, if Democrats have suffered in the states of the Old Confederacy, many of their best opportunities in November are in states carried by the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, in the 1860 electio
7. Kansas Republicans evolve—into Democrats
   http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/05/sebelius/print.html
   Nadia Pflaum
   Salon
   A popular incumbent governor persuades social moderates alienated by fights over abortion and Darwin to quit the GOP and run for office as Democrats
8. Ehrlich, Steele Absent From President’s Md. Visit
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090400366.html?nav=rss_print/asection
   Philip Rucker
   The Washington Post
   On a day considered the launching point of the fall election season, Maryland’s top two Republicans—Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele—did not appear with the president in the St. Mary’s County town
9. Bold plan for an exit strategy from failed war on drugs
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4162437.html
   Neal R. Peirce
   The Houston Chronicle
   The uncomfortable truth is that despite decades of aggressive government crackdowns, U.S. drug use and drug-related crime are as high as ever

The Right Wing

1. (PDF) National Strategy for Combating Terrorism
   http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/NSCT0906.pdf
   The White House
   Today, we face a global terrorist movement and must confront the radical ideology that justifies the use of violence against innocents in the name of religion
2. A Little Bit Country
   http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110008898&mod=RSS_Opinion_Journal&ojrss=frontpage
   Brendan Miniter
   The Wall Street Journal
   The heartland is a sea of red now. Will it long remain so if Democrats ever figure out how to reach out to rural voters?
3. Editorial: Congress’s Last Stand
   http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008896
   The Wall Street Journal
   Republicans could still help their prospects, and motivate their own supporters, if they use the next month to advance sound policies that highlight differences between the two parties
4. Elites and the military
   http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060904-095448-5331r
   Brendan Conway
   The Washington Times
   How much does the “elite” disconnect with the military even matter? Clearly it’s a problem, but how serious is it?
5. Everything You Know About the Recent Mideast War Is Wrong
   http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjFjNzM2NWFmZDA5NjU4YjA2YTJhOGFkMTZjYThkNjU=
   Emanuele Ottolenghi
   National Review
   The myth about Hezbollah’s victory is therefore just that: a myth. This means that Israel did not lose. Israel certainly did not win either
6. Laboring to Victory
   http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjcwNjgwOTgwYzk3NzE2NjljZTE1Yjg5ZjFlMjk1MDk=
   John J. Miller
   National Review
   Democrats must gain a total of six seats in order to take over. That’s going to be tough

Funny Stuff

1. Charlie Brown Has Never Knowingly Taken Steroids.
   http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/9/5kirkpatrick.html
   Andrew and Edward Kirkpatrick
   McSweeney’s
   Snoopy gave me something to make me throw harder, but he said it was flaxseed oil and vitamin drops. I was tired of having the ball hit back up the middle and all my clothes torn off
2. Airport Security Cartoons
   http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/09/airport_securit_1.html
   Bruce Schneier
3. Caltech Physicists Successfully Split The Bill
   http://www.theonion.com/content/node/52324?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=RSS
   The Onion
   Sequestered in a private booth at a Pasadena-area Cheesecake Factory for nearly 25 minutes, a party of eight California Institute Of Technology physicists emerged exhausted but visibly excited Friday evening after successfully splitting the bill
4. CNN Switches to All-Polygamy Format
   http://www.borowitzreport.com/archive_rpt.asp?rec=6578
   Andy Borowitz
   The Borowitz Report
   “This is going to be a big change for all of us, but sometimes change is just what’s needed,” said Wolf Blitzer, host of the rechristened CNN show “The Polygamy Room.”
5. Dilbert
   http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2040718060905.gif
   Scott Adams
   Wow! You’re a decorated army combat veteran
6. Rob Schneider Lands Role Originally Written For Chimp
   http://www.theonion.com/content/node/52330?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=RSS
   The Onion
   “Sure, there are things the chimp could do better, but Rob’s working with a speech coach, and he brings just as much name recognition to the project”
7. Ted Rall online
   http://www.gocomics.com/rallcom/2006/09/04/
   Ted Rall
   It isn’t a dictatorship unless the man in the box says so!

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Monday, September 4, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs

1. Al-Qaida tape seen as PR bid
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4160998.html
   Associated Press
   The Houston Chronicle
   The new al-Qaida video featuring an American calling for his countrymen to convert to Islam raised fears it signaled an imminent attack, but experts in the region said Sunday it is more likely a bid to soften the terror group’s image
2. Conversation: The world after 9/11
   http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/articles/060911on_onlineonly02
   The New Yorker
   Amy Davidson talks to Seymour M. Hersh, Jon Lee Anderson, and George Packer about Iraq, Afghanistan, the war on terror, and whether America is stronger now
3. Junior
   http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060911fa_fact
   Jane Mayer
   The New Yorker
   For nearly a decade, a former Al Qaeda operative named Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl has been living in the United States government’s witness-protection program
4. Osama’s bank account
   http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060911ta_talk_coll
   Steve Coll
   The New Yorker
   Family members of those killed have sued individuals, banks, and corporations that allegedly provided support to Al Qaeda as it grew, thus entering the foggy precincts of terrorist finance
5. Lebanon’s Coast Is Drowning in Oil
   http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-lebsea4sep04,1,3716383.story?track=rss
   Borzou Daragahi
   The Los Angeles Times
   A spill caused by an Israeli airstrike has blackened popular beaches and threatens the economy and delicate ecosystems
6. This war has taught us that Israel must revise its military approach
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1864021,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=27
   Shimon Peres
   The Guardian (UK)
   The frontlines have disappeared in this new kind of conflict, and our old deterrent weapons are no longer enough
7. War fails to dim Hizbullah’s beacon
   http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,,1864254,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
   Declan Walsh
   The Guardian (UK)
   Terror group’s scatterred journalists feed stories through hidden studios
8. Troops Cut Death, but Not Fear, in Baghdad Zone
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/world/middleeast/04dora.html?ei=5088&en=11056f26f6f74b1a&ex=1315022400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
   Damien Cave
   The New York Times
   Dora represents only the embryo of progress. It was the first of several violent neighborhoods covered by a new Baghdad security plan
9. Terrorism Prosecutions Drop
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/03/AR2006090300768.html?nav=rss_print/asection
   Dan Eggen
   The Washington Post
   Justice Department prosecutions of international terrorism cases, which surged in volume after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, have nearly returned to the levels seen prior to the hijackings
10. From bad to worse
    http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7877055&fsrc=RSS
    The Economist (UK)
    Sudan’s government rejects both African Union peacekeepers and UN soldiers in Darfur. With a military offensive underway, the situation in the region looks more dreadful than ever
11. Why Mexico Keeps Burning
    http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1531294,00.html
    Tim Padgett
    Time
    With a new President finally set to take office, a seething opposition is putting democracy to the test
12. After Beslan, the Media in Shackles
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/03/AR2006090300743.html?nav=rss_opinions/columnsandblogs
    Masha Lipman
    The Washington Post
    If there is one lesson the Kremlin has learned—or had confirmed for itself—since Beslan, it is that by maintaining tight control over political life and major media coverage, it can efficiently minimize the political fallout
13. Rules Ignored, Toxic Sludge Sinks Chinese Village
    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/world/asia/04pollution.html?ei=5088&en=3624d1fd1e9d3ef7&ex=1315022400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
    Jim Yardley
    The New York Times
    The destruction of Sugai is a lesson in the difficulty of enforcing environmental rules in China

U.S. Politics

1. G.O.P. Seen to Be in Peril of Losing House
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/washington/04campaign.html?ei=5094&en=6e1428a2510550a2&hp=&ex=1157428800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=all
   Robin Toner and Kate Zernike
   The New York Times
   Sixty-five days before the election, the signs of Republican vulnerability are widespread
2.  ‘A horror show for Republicans’
   http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609040148sep04,1,7057351,print.story
   Jill Zuckman
   The Chicago Tribune
   Numerous political analysts are forecasting that a tidal wave of voter dissatisfaction will wash Republicans out of office on Nov. 7 and possibly hand control of the House back to Democrats
3. GOP candidates stress independence
   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14666184/
   Associated Press
   MSNBC
   Republicans who were once cozy with President Bush are distancing themselves from both the president and their party in campaign ads
4. Independent bid for Chafee ‘off the boards’
   http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060903-112743-1440r.htm
   Eric Pfeiffer
   The Washington Times
   Sen. Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island Republican, says he will not follow the path of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut by running as an independent if he loses his party’s Sept. 12 primary election
5. Meet the Press September 3
   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14568263/print/1/displaymode/1098/
   NBC News
   This morning we kick off our 2006 SENATE DEBATE series with one of the most closely watched races of the year, Pennsylvania, where incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum faces off against Democratic challenger, State Treasurer Bob Casey
6. Rick Santorum is still in trouble
   http://www.slate.com/id/2148757/fr/rss/
   John Dickerson
   Slate
   The exchange on Meet the Press was largely a wash, and that’s not good for the Republican who is behind in the polls by as much as 18 points
7. Voters anxious in Ohio River Valley
   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14661972/print/1/displaymode/1098/
   Associated Press
   MSNBC
   In the valley where Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky meet, people complain about the state of the nation, voicing as many frustrations as there are turns in the Ohio River
8. The war on workers
   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/04/EDG3BKSCQI1.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
   David Sirota
   The San Francisco Chronicle
   Who are these supposed threats to America? No, not Osama bin Laden followers, but labor unions made up of millions of workers

The Right Wing

1. Not Wanted: An Exit Strategy
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/03/AR2006090300740.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
   Jackson Diehl
   The Washington Post
   Mahdi, Sistani and other Shiite leaders in the government don’t share Washington’s perception of a downward spiral. They also don’t buy the American sense of urgency
2. Confirm Bolton now
   http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060903-095538-6217r
   Jeffrey Gayner
   The Washington Times
   Confronting the crisis in the Middle East has been characteristic of how Mr. Bolton has tackled tough problems at the United Nations for the last 12 months
3. Probe more damaging than leak
   http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20060903-095539-7630r.htm
   Dan K. Thomasson
   The Washington Times
   The CIA pressed the matter as a diversion from the mounting furor over its own inadequacies in counterintelligence

Funny Stuff

1. This Modern World
   http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2006/09/04/tomo/index1.html
   Tom Tomorrow
   Salon
   Yes, going to war in Iraq was definitely a good decision—

---

Sunday, September 3, 2006

National Security / Foreign Affairs

1. How Americans Have Adapted to Terrorism
   http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1531267,00.html
   Time
   In a new TIME poll, a majority sees little prospect of winning the war on terrorism within a decade
2. A New Middle East
   http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19301
   Robert Malley
   The N.Y. Review of Books
   Of late, international attention has shifted to Lebanon, but Palestinian suffering has not eased
3. Editorial: The Wrong Battle in Pakistan
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/opinion/03sun2.html?ex=1314936000&en=35e70291246acc3b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
   The New York Times
   The government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf too often acts like a garden-variety military dictatorship
4. How U.S. dollars disappear in Afghanistan: quickly and thoroughly
   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/03/INGR0KRGMF1.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
   Ann Jones
   The San Francisco Chronicle
   To understand the failure—and fraud—of reconstruction in Afghanistan, you have to take a look at the peculiar system of U.S. aid for international development
5. Opium Harvest at Record Level in Afghanistan
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/world/asia/03afghan.html?ei=5088&en=77aca21e09c8576e&ex=1314936000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=allCarlotta Gall
   The New York Times
   Officials blame the increase in cultivation on the resurgence of Taliban rebels in the south
6. War Within War
   http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19250
   Max Rodenbeck
   The N.Y. Review of Books
   This Israeli campaign appears to have had two purposes
7. A power broker to be reckoned with
   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/03/MNG4FKUNEA1.DTL&feed=rss.news
   Anna Badkhen
   The San Francisco Chronicle
   Experts say his extensive social, religious, political and paramilitary network has made al-Sadr the second-most powerful force in Iraq, after the United State
8. Endurance Meets Doubt in Iraq
   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/weekinreview/03gordon.html?ei=5088&en=7d6ab21e94cd70a1&ex=1314936000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=allMichael R. Gordon
   The New York Times
   Many of the city’s residents believe that the surest way to put an end to the roadside bombings, sniper attacks and mortar rounds would be for the Americans to deprive the insurgents of their target by leaving
9. The Spoils of War
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101162.html?nav=rss_nation/special
   Michael Hirsh
   The Washington Post
   To this short list of indispensable accounts detailing how what was supposed to be a liberation became a quagmire, I would now add T. Christian Miller’s Blood Money
10. If America Wanted to Talk, Iran Would ...
    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/weekinreview/03slackman