International:
Contrary To Pentagon Claims, Gen. Casey Still Warning Against Troop Escalation In Iraq
On Dec. 23, an anonymous Defense Department official told the Los Angeles Times that top American military commanders in Iraq, including Gen. George Casey, had “decided to recommend a ’surge’ of fresh American combat forces.”

But in an interview last Friday, Casey told reporters that he still has doubts about an President Bush’s troop escalation plan in Iraq. From today’s New York Times

Sunni areas erupt in rage over Saddam

Rage over the hanging of Saddam Hussein spilled into the streets in many parts of the Sunni Muslim heartland yesterday, especially in Samarra, where a mob of protesters broke the locks of the badly damaged Shi'ite Golden Mosque and marched through carrying a mock coffin and photo of the executed former Iraqi dictator. WashingtonTimes reports...

National:

Democrats To Start Without GOP Input As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking.

House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans.

But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories. Full story here.

Former Officers Warn 'Surge' in Iraq Could Place Fatal Strain on U.S. Military

Several former military officers warn that adding troops in Iraq or growing the Armed Forces would put an almost fatal strain on an already stressed military and may reduce recruiting standards in a push to meet goals. More at FOXNews.

Where's Osama Obama? CNN apologized Tuesday for mistakenly promoting a story on the search for Osama bin Laden with the headline "Where's Obama?"

A spokesman for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama said the apology was accepted. The blunder came Monday evening on Wolf Blitzer's news show "The Situation Room." Both Soledad O'Brien and Blitzer offered separate apologies during CNN's morning show Tuesday.

CNN called it a "bad typographical error" by its graphics department. "We want to apologize for that bad typo," Blitzer said. "We also want to apologize personally to Sen. Barack Obama. I'm going to be making a call to him later this morning to offer my personal apology." More here.

In Other News…
President Bush “intends to reveal a new Iraq strategy within days,” the BBC reports. The speech’s “central theme will be sacrifice” and will highlight a “plan to send more US troops to Iraq.”

Roadside bombs have caused “over a third of the 3,000 American GI deaths in Iraq.” The Christian Science Monitor notes that these IEDs have “bedeviled” Pentagon war planners and “the danger is increasing despite efforts to counter it.”

Pat Robertson predicts horrific terrorist attack on U.S. in 2007. "I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be nuclear, The Lord didn't say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that."
Robertson said God told him during a recent prayer retreat that major cities and possibly millions of people will be affected by the attack, which should take place sometime after September.
"I put these things out with humility," he said.

From the Right:
Jeff Emanuel:

The End of Saddam: Not with a bang, but a whimper
The life of one of the most notorious dictators of the past twenty years ended just after ten o’clock Friday night, courtesy of the ?short drop and sudden stop? of the hangman’s noose.

From The Left:
Dean Baker: Iraq War Lie Detector Test
"There has been no shortage of deceptions surrounding the prosecution of the Iraq war, beginning with the original justification - Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, supporters of the war continue to use deception to advance their agenda. The latest lie is that Congress doesn't have the ability to end the war, because if they cut off funding they would jeopardize the safety of our troops."

Quote Of The Day:
“I’m no war criminal. My titanic screw-ups in Iraq were perfectly legal”
Paul Wolfowitz speaking at Ahavath Achim Synagogue

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, FOXNews, BBC, CreativeLoafing, DrudgeReport, Center For American Progress, LATimes, NYTimes, CSMonitor, Breitbart, WashingtonPost, WashingtonTimes, PoliticalCartoons.com)