International:

Pre-Iraq war intel warned of problems with al-Qaida, Iran

Intelligence analysts predicted, in secret papers circulated within the government before the
Iraq invasion, that al-Qaida would see U.S. military action as an opportunity to increase its operations and that Iran would try to shape a post-Saddam Iraq. The top analysts in government also said that establishing a stable democracy in Iraq would be a "long, difficult and probably turbulent process."

Democrats said the newly declassified documents, part of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation released Friday, make clear that the Bush administration was warned about the very challenges it now faces as it tries to stabilize Iraq.

"Sadly, the administration's refusal to heed these dire warnings — and worse, to plan for them — has led to tragic consequences for which our nation is paying a terrible price," said Senate Intelligence Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

Some Republicans rejected the committee's work as flawed. The panel's top Republican, Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, said the report's conclusions selectively highlight the intelligence agencies' findings that seem to be important now, distorting the picture of what was presented to policy-makers. He said the committee's work on the Iraq intelligence "has become too embroiled in politics and partisanship to produce an accurate and meaningful report." Here's the link

Taliban launches new Afghan operation

"In this operation, we will target our enemies and use our tactics — suicide bombs, remote-controlled (roadside bombs) and ambushes — against occupying forces and the government," Ahmadi said by satellite phone from an undisclosed location. "We start this operation today in all of Afghanistan." Read more here.

Al-Sadr calls for U.S. pullout from Iraq

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resurfaced Friday after nearly four months in hiding and demanded U.S. troops leave Iraq, a development likely to complicate U.S. efforts to crack down on violence and broker political compromise in the country. Read on here

Cheney readies West Point grads for war in Iraq
Vice President Dick Cheney tells the graduating class at West Point that the country is counting on them to help win the war on terror. Video here.

National:

Sh* On You Mr Presdent? -A sparrow lets Bush know what he thinks about the Commander Guy's legacy.

Bush signs Iraq spending bill
President Bush signed a bill Friday to pay for military operations in Iraq after a bitter struggle with Democrats in Congress who sought unsuccessfully to tie the money to U.S. troop withdrawals.

Bush signed the bill into law at the Camp David presidential retreat where he is spending part of the Memorial Day weekend. In announcing the signing, White House spokesman Tony Fratto noted that it came 109 days after Bush sent his emergency spending request to Congress.

Bush had rejected an earlier bill because it contained a timetable for withdrawing troops. His signature on this measure, however, doesn't end debate on Capitol Hill over the administration's war policy — a dispute that will heat up again this fall.

"I think the president's policy is going to begin to unravel now," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who expressed disappointment that the bill did not force an end to U.S. participation in the conflict.

Democrats say the drive to bring U.S. troops home is far from over. "We're going to keep coming back and coming back," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic caucus.

U.S. scraps missile-defense test as target misfires

The United States scrapped on Friday a key test of an emerging missile-defense shield after a dummy missile that was to have been the system's target went astray over the Pacific.

"The target did not reach sufficient altitude to be deemed a threat, and so the ballistic missile defense system did not engage it, as designed," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

The event was officially designated a "no test" when the target, launched from Alaska's Kodiak Island, failed to reach the defended zone, said Richard Lehner, an agency spokesman. It was a blow to President Bush's multibillion-dollar drive for a layered shield to thwart ballistic missiles from countries like North Korea and Iran that could be tipped with chemical, germ or nuclear warheads.

In Other News...

House Minority Leader John Boehner choked up as he talked about the Iraq spending bill Thursday night. watch the video

Under pressure from watchdog groups, the Air Force and Army "partially distanced themselves yesterday from a three-day evangelical Christian event this weekend at a Georgia theme park." The group sponsoring the event bills its purpose as "sharing the fullness of life in Jesus Christ with all US military, military veterans, and families."

"Farmers in southern Iraq have started to grow opium poppies in their fields for the first time, sparking fears that Iraq might become a serious drugs producer along the lines of Afghanistan."

Iran Claims to Uncover Spy Networks Organized By U.S., Western Allies. The Intelligence Ministry has "succeeded in identifying and striking blows at several spy networks comprised of infiltrating elements from the Iraqi occupiers in western, southwestern and central Iran," said the statement, using shorthand for United States and its allies. Details here

From The Right: Rich Galen: Pelosi's Problems Nancy Pelosi has had a tough week. She has had to agree to pretty much an unconditional surrender on the Iraq funding bill.

From The Left: Ann Wright: What Congress Really Approved: Benchmark No. 1: Privatizing Iraq's Oil for US Companies The supplemental bill Congress passed to continue funding the Iraq war is really about "stealing Iraq's oil - the second largest reserves in the world.

Quote Of The Day: "Only George Bush could fight a war for oil and not get any" -Bill Mahr

(Souces: AP, Reuters, RealTime w/BillMahr, YouTube, CNN, FOXNews, BostonGlobe, TownHll, TheIndpendent, ThinkProgress)