International:
House Armed Services Chairman ‘Extremely Concerned’ With Iraq Escalation Plans

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has released a statement expressing his serious concern over proposals to increase the U.S. presence in Iraq by up to 50,000 troops:

“The recent speculation in the press regarding an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 or even 50,000 troops in Iraq has left me with many concerns. Everything I’ve heard and everything I know to be true lead me to believe that this increase at best won’t change a thing, and at worst could exacerbate the situation even further. I am also extremely concerned about the additional burden that would be placed on the Army and Marine Corps.

The Iraqis need to understand that responsibility for the future of that country is theirs. Beginning the redeployment of some number of American forces would send that message. I urge the President to carefully consider this option to help move the political situation in Iraq forward."

U.S.: Iran Helps Hezbollah Replenish Strongholds With $200 Million in Aid

Money to help rebuild Hezbollah strongholds has been pouring into Lebanon, and arms may not be far behind, according to U.S. officials familiar with the efforts to restock everything from kitchen shelves to arsenals following this summer's conflict with Israel. More here

Bush Signs Nuclear Cooperation With India Bill Into Law

President Bush on Monday signed a civilian nuclear deal with India, allowing fuel and know-how to be shipped to the world's largest democracy even though it has not submitted to full international inspections.

"The bill will help keep America safe by paving the way for India to join the global effort to stop the spread of nuclear weapons," Bush said. Read the full story

New Al Qaeda Message Expected As Terror Anxieties Already High in Europe

With European law enforcement officials warning of an imminent holiday terror attack, Web sites associated with al Qaeda announced today that the group's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is about to issue a new statement entitled "the truths about the clash between Islam and atheism." Zawahiri's statement is being advertised by al Sahab, the production wing for al Qaeda. Typically, the statements are released a few days after being advertised by al Sahab, which would put this message out right before the Christmas holiday weekend begins.

National:
Gates: Iraq Failure Would Be 'Calamity'

"All of us want to find a way to bring America's sons and daughters home again," Gates, 63, said after taking the oath of office as defense secretary from Vice President Dick Cheney at a Pentagon ceremony. "But as the president has made clear, we simply cannot afford to fail in the Middle East. Failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come."

Clinton Would Have Voted Differently According to ABC News, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) now says she would not have voted in 2002 to give President Bush the authority to attack Iraq "if she knew everything she knows now."Clinton "has long been viewed as potentially vulnerable on her left flank with regards to the war in a Democratic nomination fight where primary voters and caucus-goers tend to represent the more liberal wing of the party." She "has made strides over the last year in speeches, committee hearings, letters to her constituents, and television appearances to criticize the Bush administration's general handling of the war and specifically calling for former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld’s resignation."

Bush Hits Another Low Support for President Bush's management of the war in Iraq has dropped to a new low as he ponders a change in the U.S. strategy there, according to a new CNN poll. "Monday's poll results suggest the widespread dissatisfaction with the Iraq war may be dragging down public approval of Bush's handling of anti-terrorism efforts as well. Support for his management of that issue plunged to 42 percent, down from 50 percent in a poll taken Oct. 13-15, while the percentage of those who disapproved rose from 47 percent to 55 percent -- the first time more than 50 percent have registered disapproval on that topic."

In Other News...
Iraq's schools, long touted by American officials as a success story, increasingly are "caught in the crossfire of the country's escalating civil war." Across the country, "campuses are being shuttered" as teachers tell of "students kidnapped on their way to school, mortar rounds landing on or near campuses and educators shot in front of children."

Robert Gates was sworn in this morning as secretary of defense in a private event at the White House, and later attended a public swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon. He says he intends to travel to Iraq "very soon."

The amount CEO's from America's 500 biggest companies earned last year was $5.4 billion, a 6 percent raise from the previous year. See who the Top 25 earners were here.

Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms kidnapped an estimated 28 people from the Baghdad offices of the Red Crescent humanitarian group on Sunday. Three U.S. soldiers died over the weekend, bringing December's toll "to at least 57, on pace to surpass the 69 tallied in November."

From The Right:
Robert D. Novak: Bush: "I do, too" Meeting privately with the Baker-Hamilton commission before its report on Iraq was released, George W. Bush did not seem pleased.

From The Left:
Norman Solomon: Powell, Baker, Hamilton - Thanks for Nothing "When Colin Powell endorsed the Iraq Study Group report during his December 17 appearance on 'Face the Nation,' it was another curtain call for a tragic farce. Four years ago, 'moderates' like Powell were making the invasion of Iraq possible." writes Norman Solomon.

Quote Of the Day:
"A nation can survive it's fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly wispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.

For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguements, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear."

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO Roman orator, statesman 42 B.C.

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, LATimes, AP, Forbes, Drudge Report, Center For American Progress, ABCNews, Breibart.com, PoliticalCartoons.com, PoliticalWire, CNN, Hannity.com)