International:

Iran president says Israel's days are numbered

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday told delegates at an international conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days were numbered. Ahmadinejad, who has sparked international outcry by referring to the killing of six million Jews in World War Two as a "myth" and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map", launched another verbal attack on the Jewish state.

"Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want," he said.

"Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out," he added. More here

Annan accuses U.S. of losing its principles
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called yesterday for the United States to respect international norms, pointedly contrasting Bush administration policies in Iraq with the values that made America great.

Bush gives no hint of new Iraq direction

President Bush knows the general direction he wants to move U.S. policy on Iraq but won't announce it until next month, the White House said Tuesday. Military commanders were recommending more U.S. advisers and equipment for Iraqi forces, said a defense specialist.

CNN: Bush Is ‘Very Seriously’ Considering Sending More Troops To Iraq

CNN’s John King reported this afternoon that President Bush is planning a “substantial policy shift” on Iraq and is “very seriously considering…agreeing with Sen. John McCain and increasing U.S. troop levels in the short-term.”

King said the White House has postponed the announcement of the policy shift to January because Bush “has asked for more advice about” how he could send 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, and administration officials “need more time to put all that on the table.”

King said the White House sees a political benefit to delaying the announcement. “If you are going to disagree with the Iraq Study Group and not accept its major recommendations, then let some time go by, let the American people forget about that a little bit” and “buy some time for critics” to attack the ISG.

National:

Tony Snow: There Is A ‘Sense Of Crisis Of Confidence In Government’

This morning, a USA Today/Gallup poll reported that fewer than 20 percent of Americans have “a great deal” of trust in President Bush to “recommend the right thing” for the United States to do in Iraq. The poll found that confidence in congressional leaders to chart the proper course is even lower, at 14 percent. A separate CBS News poll reported a record-low 21 percent approve of Bush’s handling of the war.

At the White House press conference this afternoon, Press Secretary Tony Snow was forced to acknowledge that the administration’s handling of Iraq has caused a “crisis of confidence” in government:

"Whatever the discontent may be with the president, the level of confidence in Congress is even lower. And what you have is the sense of crisis of confidence in government."

Rumsfeld: ‘It Is Not A War on Terror’
In a new interview posted on Townhall.com, conservative columnist Cal Thomas asks outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, “With what you know now, what might you have done differently in Iraq?” Rumsfeld offers a remarkable response:

"I don’t think I would have called it the war on terror. I don’t mean to be critical of those who have. Certainly, I have used the phrase frequently. Why do I say that? Because the word ‘war’ conjures up World War II more than it does the Cold War. It creates a level of expectation of victory and an ending within 30 or 60 minutes of a soap opera. It isn’t going to happen that way. Furthermore, it is not a ‘war on terror.’ Terror is a weapon of choice for extremists who are trying to destabilize regimes and (through) a small group of clerics, impose their dark vision on all the people they can control. So ‘war on terror’ is a problem for me."

Rumsfeld not only used the phrase ‘war on the terror’; he repeatedly criticized anyone who questioned the validity of it.

– “[T]here has been comment in the press of late about whether or not we’re even engaged in a war on terror, or whether our purpose might be better explained in a different manner. Let there be no mistake, we are a nation at war, against terrorist enemies who are seeking our surrender or our retreat. It is a war.” [

8/2/05]

– “I would like to say that Iraq is really one of the battle grounds in the global war on terror.” [

4/24/06]

– “Iraq is the central front of the global war on terror.” [

12/16/05]

– Q: My argument is that we are fighting the war on terror in Iraq. Back me up a little bit on that, Mr. Secretary. RUMSFELD: Well, you’re absolutely right. [

8/3/04]

– “[Iraq is] part of the global war on terror; let there be no doubt.” [

9/10/03]

– Q: Do you feel that the Administration by turning its attention onto Iraq would be leaving the job undone a bit too soon? RUMSFELD: Oh, no. Indeed that’s part of the global war on terrorism, Iraq. [

12/4/02]

Rumsfeld’s outgoing memo on Iraq - which calls for a “

major adjustment” in strategy - makes no mention of the one thing he would have “done differently” on Iraq.

Democrats Keep Rep. Jefferson Off Ways and Means Committee Amid Corruption Probe

House Democrats, insistent that they will hold lawmakers to higher standards, decided Tuesday that Rep. William Jefferson will not return to an influential committee until a federal corruption investigation involving him is completed.

In Other News...

Democratic congressional leaders announced yesterday they plan to "place a moratorium on all earmarks until lobbying changes are enacted."

President Bush met yesterday with three retired generals and two academics who disagreed with the Iraq Study Group's plan "to reduce the number of U.S. combat troops in Iraq and to reach out for help to Iran and Syria." It is another sign "the president is gathering support for a new plan that ignores several of the bipartisan committee's recommendations." The group of experts "also recommended the president make some changes in his national security team," which is "'likely to fuel Pentagon rumors' that Marine Gen. Peter Pace will be removed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

In a recent interview, Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), the incoming House intelligence committee chairman, could not identify the Muslim roots of Hezbollah and al Qaeda. Asked by a reporter whether al Qaeda was Sunni or Shiite, Reyes replied incorrectly, "Predominantly -- probably Shiite." Other members on the committee and several top counterterrorism officials also failed the quiz

USA Today reports on a Gallup poll that finds a "record high 62 percent of Americans say the war in Iraq isn't 'worth it,' and a record low 16 percent say the United States is winning."

From The Right:

Bill Murchison: To the President: Lead!
Wasn't it plain enough going in? You don't need a blue-ribbon commission stuffed and dressed with Beltway eminences to tell you how to win a war.

From The Left:

Matt Pascarella : Congresswoman McKinney Files Articles of Impeachment

"My duty as a member of Congress is merely to uphold and preserve the Constitution and to represent the will of my constituency. Ultimately, it isn't up to me or any other member of Congress - it is up to the American people to decide."

Quote Of The Day:

"This invasion will end in failure."

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (a.k.a. Baghdad Bob) He was the former Iraqi information minister who made this final prophetic utterance on April 7, 2003, before disappearing into the obscurity of occupied Iraq.

(Sources: Reuters, AP, CNN, TownHall, TruthOut, FOXNews, Drudge Report, Center For American Progress, Slate, WashingtonPost, Washington Times, CQ, USAToday, Gallup, Defenselink.mil, CommonDreams)