International:

Al Qaeda Leader in Iraq Wounded, Aide Killed in Clash, Iraq's Interior Ministry Reports

The leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq was wounded and an aide was killed in a clash Thursday with Iraqi forces north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The clash occurred near

Balad, a major U.S. base about 50 miles north of the capital, Brig. Gen Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.

Khalaf said

Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri was wounded and his aide, identified as Abu Abdullah al-Majemaai, was killed. Full story here

Bush certain Iranians tied to arms

President Bush yesterday said he knows an elite Iranian military unit is supplying arms to insurgents in Iraq, though he acknowledged he can't say if they were sent on the orders of Iran's top officials.

"Here's my point: Either they knew or didn't know, and what matters is, is that they're there," he said of the Quds force, a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, during a morning press conference at the White House. "What's worse -- that the government knew or that the government didn't know?"

On Iraq, Mr. Bush called for Americans to give his new strategy time to work, saying it would give the Iraqis "political breathing space" to get their own affairs settled. And he said while Congress can express itself through nonbinding resolutions, they must not withdraw funding from the troops.

"I'm going to make it very clear to the members of Congress, starting now, that they need to fund our troops and they need to make sure we have the flexibility necessary to get the job done," he said. Read more

American Jihadis' Web Network

Daniel Joseph Maldonado (aka Daniel Al-Jughaifi, aka Abu Mohammed), arrested in Kenya after fighting for the Islamic Courts in Somalia, was an administrator at the web site Islamic Networking. Internet Haganah points out that this site is the successor to the infamous ClearGuidance.com (aka “Islam on Crack,” online home to several of the Toronto jihadis arrested last year, and subject of many LGF posts) and was founded by the same person (Sasjamal), in a post that connects the dots: Islamist terrorism, from clearguidance.com to islamicnetwork.com. Read on

National:

GOP Group Retreats After Making Factual Error While Criticizing Speaker Pelosi

The House-based Republican Study Committee on Thursday backed off its attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — in which it suggested she had violated C-SPAN's copyright — after learning it had its facts wrong.

"

This is yet another baseless attack by the Republicans. It's another desperate attempt to avoid focusing on the real issues that affect the American people," Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said after the retraction.

The error occurred early in the afternoon, when the RSC distributed a press release criticizing the speaker for using House floor speech footage on her Web log,

The Gavel, that had been taped off C-SPAN and distributed on YouTube. C-SPAN is a private, non-profit company that airs footage of the House and Senate activities, including all floor sessions.

"

The blog violated copyright and trademark law on the very first day. Not once, not twice, but 16 times," read the release. "The RSC spoke with C-SPAN today, who confirmed that these videos violate C-SPAN copyright/trademark of the House proceedings."

Reid Calls Conservatives’ Bluff, Will Delay Recess To Vote On Escalation

Two weeks ago, Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who say they oppose escalating the war, nevertheless voted to block debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing Bush’s Iraq policy.

Facing a political backlash, those same senators now say they want a vote immediately. In a letter yesterday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Hagel and Snowe said they planned to block the Senate from adjourning for next week’s recess until a vote on escalation was held.

Today, Reid called their bluff. At a press conference, Reid announced that he will delay the Senate’s recess and hold a cloture vote on the Iraq resolution on Saturday. “Time is of the essence,” Reid said, and we are “determined to end the silence and find a new direction.” Watch here

Iraq Critics Are Helping ‘Jihadists Who Want The Crescent And Star To Wave Over The Capitol’

During today’s House debate on Iraq, Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) said supporting the anti-escalation resolution would “aid and assist the Islamic jihadists who want the crescent and star to wave over the Capitol of the United States and over the White House of this country.” Moreover, he said, “I fear that radical Muslims who want to control the Middle East and ultimately the world would love to see ‘In God We Trust’ stricken from our money and replaced with ‘In Muhammad We Trust.’” This is a must see, click here.

In Other News...

“The U.S. Central Command’s war plan for invading Iraq postulated in August 2002 that the U.S. would have only 5,000 troops left in Iraq as of December 2006,” according to newly released documents. “Completely unrealistic assumptions about a post-Saddam Iraq permeate these war plans,” said an official from the National Security Archive, which obtained the documents.

The Los Angeles Times examines whether the Iranian Quds Forces, accused of smuggling weapons to Shiite forces in Iraq, are controlled by the Iranian government. The conclusion: “Experts aren’t sure.”

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) today outlined his plan to begin ending the war in Iraq “by stopping the deployment of troops from units that have been badly degraded by four years of combat.” Murtha’s legislation will require that U.S. troops who have already served be granted adequate time at home before redeploying, and that “any troops sent to Iraq must be deemed fully trained and equipped under existing military standards.”

From The Right: Cal Thomas: North Korea Again ? My first reaction upon hearing that North Korea had agreed to take steps toward nuclear disarmament was: not again! Hadn't Pyongyang promised Jimmy Carter, during his ill-advised 1994 "peace" mission, that it would freeze its nuclear weapons program and dismantle existing nuclear facilities? Didn't North Korea break that promise?

From The Left: Johanna Neuman and Joel Havemann: Bush Orders More Troops Into Afghanistan President Bush today announced a new infusion of troops and funds to help Afghanistan survive an expected assault this spring from the Taliban. He also urged NATO to do more.

Quote Of The Day:

"I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job."

President Bush, quoted in the Lancaster New Era, during a private meeting with an Amish group.

(Sources: FOXNews, AP, ThePolitico, TownHall, TruthOut, LittleGreenFootballs, ThinkProgress, WashingtonTimes, NYT, GWU, LATimes, NYPost, USSenate, PoliticalWire)