International:
Turkey approves Iraq incursion plan, allies anxious
Turkey's parliament resoundingly approved a motion on Wednesday allowing troops to cross into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels there, but its Western allies and Baghdad urged Ankara to refrain from military action.

As parliament voted in Ankara by 507 votes to 19 in favor of the motion, U.S. President George W. Bush said it would not be in NATO member Turkey's interests to send troops into Iraq and the Pentagon said it did not think Ankara had the appetite for such a move.

Washington fears a Turkish incursion could destabilize the most peaceful part of Iraq and possibly the wider region by encouraging others such as arch-foe Iran to intervene. Details

Syrian Slip-Up DisclosesExistence of Nuke Facility
In U.N. document, Damascus envoy refers to Israel's air raid 'against nuclear facilities, including ... July attack in Syria'

Japan and China lead flight from the dollar

Japan and China led a record withdrawl of foreign funds from the United States in August, heightening fears of a fresh slide in the dollar and a spike in US bond yields. Read on...

IMF says dollar ‘overvalued’

National:

Head of Counterterrorism Agency Resigns

Vice Adm. John Redd, the head of the U.S. agency responsible for analyzing intelligence on terrorism and developing counterterrorism strategies, announced his resignation on Wednesday.

Redd, first director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in a letter to staff he was stepping down as of November 10 for "long-delayed surgery which I can no longer neglect."

Redd needs replacement surgery on both knees, which would require a prolonged absence if he were to stay as director, center spokesman Carl Kropf said. Full story here.

Pentagon to alert 8 Guard units for duty
The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer, The Associated Press learned Wednesday.
The U.S. military is reaching out to more Guard units in an effort to maintain needed troop levels, ease some of the strain on the active duty Army and provide security for ports, convoys and other installations.

According to defense officials, seven of the units would deploy to Iraq and one to Afghanistan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the orders had not yet been signed and the announcement is not expected until the end of this week. Read the full story here...

Plame speaks out
On Tuesday, outed CIA operative Valerie Plame will release her book, Fair Game — My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, marking the first time she will publicly detail the leak scandal. AP previews:

In Other News…

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said he was not prepared to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies for their participation in the warrantless wiretapping program. "I certainly would not give them immunity retroactively on programs that we don't know what they are," he said.

The White House agreed yesterday to give Senate intelligence committee members and staff access to internal documents related to its domestic surveillance program. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that when one of her staff members reviewed the documents, "he wasn't impressed."

24 percent: President Bush's approval rating in a new Reuters/Zogby poll, which sets yet another record low for the President.

Prior to his confirmation hearing today, Attorney General nominee Mike Mukasey was introduced "before the cameras" by a "tripartisan" group of senators: Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

In a special election yesterday, Niki Tsongas (D), the wife of the late Sen. Paul Tsongas (D), beat out Republican Jim Ogonowski to fill former Rep. Martin Meehan's (D-MA) vacant 5th district House seat, "becoming the first woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress in nearly 25 years."

And finally: Colbert throws his hat in the ring. On the Daily Show last night, comedian Stephen Colbert "made a surprise appearance" to officially announce he was considering a run for president. About 20 minutes later on his own show, Colbert announced "Yes, I'm doing it!" He then welcomed CBS political analyst Jeff Greenfield to analyze his impact on the race "in the past three minutes."

From The Right: Brent Bozell III: Al Gore's Nobel Propaganda Prize Today, the Nobel committee seems especially interested in using the Peace Prize to tweak American conservatives, honoring Jimmy Carter in 2002 (when it excluded him from Camp David accords honors in 1978) and now Al Gore in 2007. People are asking the obvious: How has Gore's alarmism on global warming aided world "peace"?

From the Left: John Cory: America, Land of Fear? They have presented us with their sinister box gift-wrapped in a thobe and ghutra tied in a bow with a chapan and pakol. And when the package loses its luster, they light the ribbon-fuse and toss the sparkling box into the air for all to see and remember and shudder. Such a lovely parcel, this box of fear; carefully packaged and marketed with shiny toys of death inside and extra coupons on the back to order more. Don't be the only kid on the block without one.

Quote Of The Day: "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," ..."So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon" [President Bush said at a White House press conference after Russia cautioned against military action against Tehran's supect atomic program] 'smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud'> More here

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, Breitbart, AFP, Telegraph UK, FinancialTimes, Guardian, ABCNews, EditorAndPublisher, PoliticalCartoons.com)

International:
Turkey Pressured to Send Troops Into Northern Iraq
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gave the green light on Tuesday for a possible military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels hiding there after a series of deadly attacks on Turkish security forces. Read more here

Pakistan Clashes Kill 250 Near Afghanistan
Militants, troops clash, marking deadliest attacks in Pakistan since declaring support for terror war.

Qatar says oil prices should top 100 dollars
Qatar's energy minister said crude oil prices, which have surged recently to record levels above 80 dollars a barrel, should be more than 100 dollars.

"If we take into account inflation from 1972 to the present day, the real and fair price for oil should be more than 100 dollars," Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said in remarks aired by Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday. Get the full story

National:
Dow Sets New Records
Wall Street advanced sharply Tuesday as investors interpreted minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting as indicating the central bank is ready to keep cutting interest rates to boost the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index reached new record highs. Details...

Casey: Army Needs ‘Three Or Four Years’ And ‘Substantial Resources’ To Recover From Iraq War
Gen. David Petraeus has repeatedly stated that he would like the U.S. to be in Iraq for 9-10 years. “[T]he average counter insurgency is somewhere around a nine or a 10 year endeavour,” he said in July.

Romney, Giuliani Clash Over Taxes at GOP Debate
Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani quarreled over tax and spending cuts Tuesday, each claiming greater commitment than the other in a debate in the nation's struggling manufacturing heartland. FULL STORY In Other News…

In Other News...
"Two months after vowing to roll back broad new wiretapping powers won by the Bush administration," the New York Times writes, "Congressional Democrats appear ready to make concessions that could extend some of the key powers granted to the National Security Agency." Glenn Greenwald suggests that "the picture is more complicated and less depressing than this NYT article suggests."

In a new report, the Iraqi government wants the United States to "to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards" opened fire in a Baghdad last month. The Iraqis also want the United States to hand over the guards involved in the incident for possible trial in Iraqi court.

"Almost 40% of the people displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina" lived "below the poverty line last year," according to a Census Bureau survey. The survey also found that "nearly a third of those who fled the hurricane could not find jobs last year, and thousands more weren't trying."

President Bush's SCHIP veto has caused "fresh divisions" among Senate Republicans. "Because the president and Republican leaders are not pushing a positive health care agenda, a lot of people are not comfortable opposing anything that has children in it," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) told Roll Call that the "lack of a forceful positive agenda" has "sort of split our caucus."

"Americans are hearing much less from the Bush administration about democracy for the Middle East than they did a year ago. As Shiite Iran rises, the White House has muted its calls for reform in the region as it redirects policy to reembrace Sunni Arab allies -- who run, to varying degrees, authoritarian regimes."

Six years after 9/11, "the 'war on terror' is failing and instead fueling an increase in support for extremist Islamist movements," according to the Oxford Research Group, a British think tank. The group stated that a "fundamental re-think is required" if al Qaeda is to be rendered ineffective.

From The Right: Walter E. Williams: Attacking Talk Radio What has made Rush Limbaugh so effective with this message has been his ability to put things, and ask questions, in a manner that the average citizen can understand and relate to, and do so with a bit of humor. Humor creates madness among leftists who want their interventionist agenda taken seriously.

From the Left: Joby Warrick: Anti-Terror Spy Network Wrecked by White House Leak A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month and notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release. The founder of the company says the White House's premature disclosure of the tape tipped al-Qaeda to a security breach and destroyed a years-long surveillance operation that the company has used to intercept and pass along secret messages, videos and advance warnings of suicide bombings from the terrorist group's communications network.

Quote Of The Day: "My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the - in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen." -George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug, 13, 2001

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, Reuters, LifesAJoke, Breitbart, TheHill, BBCNews,PoliticalCartoons.com, CBSNews, USAToday, RollCall, ChristianScienceMonitor)

Last Week Of "The Politique" :-(

International:
Chopper Escorting Musharraf Crashes
Pakistani president OK after one of three helicopters escorting him crashes, killing four soldiers.

Rare Protest Targets Iranian President
About 100 students staged a rare protest Monday against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, calling him a "dictator" as he gave a speech at Tehran University marking the beginning of the academic year.

While the demonstrators and hard-line students loyal to Ahmadinejad scuffled in the auditorium, the president ignored chants of "Death to the dictator" and gave his speech on the merits of science and the pitfalls of Western-style democracy, witnesses said.

The hard-line students chanted "Thank you, president" as police looked on from outside the university's gates without intervening. The protesters dispersed after Ahmadinejad left the campus. More
here

Israel Signals Shift on Jerusalem Split

All British troops may leave Iraq next year
Most British troops could be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of next year under an exit strategy outlined by Gordon Brown yesterday.

As the Prime Minister began trying to restore his battered authority after calling off an autumn election, Mr Brown said British troop numbers would be halved to 2,500 by next spring when a further decision on the next phase would be taken.

Ministry of Defence officials said that all British troops could be out by the end of next year, although Downing Street expressed caution about the prospect.
Details

Iraqi leaders: National Reconciliation Is Unattainable
The Washington Post reports this morning that “several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in” the idea that “national reconciliation” can come amid the competing struggle for power of Iraq’s various factions. Reconciliation “is a very inaccurate term,” said Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih. “This is a struggle about power“

National:
GOP Lawmakers Blast Hillary Clinton for Taking Advice From Sandy Berger
Hillary Clinton claims Sandy Berger has "no official role" in her campaign after Republican lawmakers blasted her Monday upon learning that Clinton's campaign is taking advice from the former top aide to President Bill Clinton who admitted stealing classified documents and disposing them.

"I think it’s a bad move," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaking with FOX News. "He stole documents, classified documents, from the National Archives, destroyed them, lied about what he did (and) is not the kind of adviser that you would want surrounding a candidate for president of the United States. I think it’s a bad decision."

GOP's 6th debate is Thompson's 1st
Fred Thompson, a veteran actor but a newcomer to presidential politics, steps onto a debate stage Tuesday for the first time in a decade.

He's been practicing for weeks. Although nine Republicans will take part in the forum, which begins at 4 p.m. EDT in Dearborn, Mich., the focus will be on Thompson, a former Tennessee senator.

Democrats to unveil wiretapping bill
The Justice Department would have to reveal to Congress the details of all electronic surveillance conducted without court orders since Sept. 11, 2001, including the so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program, if a new Democratic wiretapping bill is approved. Read more
here

In Other News…
The CIA's secret overseas prison system "
remains active and has held at least one al Qaeda militant" since first being revealed last year, says a U.S. official. "The official confirmed the detention as the White House" refused to say "whether the agency had resumed holding prisoners at secret sites and insisted that the United States does not torture."

In light of the revelation yesterday of secret opinions giving the CIA approval in 2005 for harsh interrogation techniques, Senate Intel Chairman John (D-WV) "
wrote to the acting attorney general, Peter D. Keisler, asking for copies of all opinions on interrogation since 2004."

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has launched an
online petition asking conservatives to "band together" and "stand with Rush Limbaugh against liberal attacks."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has "closed the door to negotiations with President Bush on a vetoed children's health bill." "
We're not going to compromise," Reid said. "If he's hoping for that, he better hope for something else, like getting our troops home from Iraq."

Intel Community To Release ‘Three Iran Reports’ To ‘Slow Down’ Bush’s Warmongering. On the Chris Matthews Show today, NBC’s Howard Fineman speaks -listen
here

From The Right: Armstrong Williams: Middle East Peace Summit According to former senior United States diplomats, there is a "profound" chance that the upcoming Middle East peace summit organized by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will fail because of a lack of groundwork done by the American government.

From the Left: Glenn Kessler: Iraq Embassy Costs Soar Amid Poor Planning The massive US embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes sought by State Department officials, according to US officials and a department document provided to Congress.

Quote Of The Day: "I came to the office of the presidency to solve problems, not to pass them on to future presidents and future generations. I came to seize opportunities instead of letting them slip away." George W. Bush in New York, for the opening swing of his 2004 re-election campaign - June 23, 2003 (read more)

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, DrudgeReport, NYT, Times-UK, MSNBC, Reuters, Politico, RollCall, PoliticalCartoons.com)

International:

Official: CIA Warned of Possible Terror Attacks in Europe

The CIA has warned its counterparts in Europe of the possibility of terror attacks in several countries, with Paris' sewage system among the suggested targets, a French official said Thursday.

The agency warned that Al Qaeda agents may be planning homicide or bombing attacks in London and cities in Italy, France and Germany, Le Monde newspaper reported. It said the CIA had warned of the possibility of attacks taking place this month.

New military leaders question Iraq mission
Four and a half years after the nation's top military leaders saluted and fell in behind President Bush's pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, their replacements are beginning to question the mission and sound alarms about the toll the war is taking on the Army and the Marine Corps. The change at the Pentagon is striking but little-noticed, in part because Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a longtime veteran of the CIA, is quiet where his predecessor Donald H. Rumsfeld was not. read more

GOP urges probe in China firm deal
Several Republican members of Congress yesterday called for a Treasury Department probe into whether Pentagon computer networks will be compromised by the merger of a U.S. network-equipment maker and a Chinese firm with links to Beijing's military.

Opening of US Embassy in Iraq Delayed The opening of a mammoth, $600 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which had been planned for last month, has now been delayed well into next year, U.S. officials said Thursday. The Vatican-sized compound, which will be the world's largest diplomatic mission, has been beset by construction and logistical problems. Read the full story.

National:
Poll: U.S. 'Better Off' Losing War?
Nearly one out of every five Democrats thinks the world will be better off if America loses the war in Iraq, according to the FOX News Opinion Dynamics Poll released Thursday.

I'm Here, Get Used To It
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig defiantly vowed to serve out his term in office on Thursday despite losing a court attempt to rescind his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting.

"I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively," Craig said in a written statement certain to disappoint fellow Republicans who have long urged him to step down. Details...

Approval of Bush, Congress Hits New Low
Only 31 percent said they approve of the job Bush is doing, according to the survey released on Thursday. His lowest previous approval in the survey was 32 percent—a virtual tie with the new reading—recorded several times, most recently in June.

Only 69 percent of Republicans voiced approval of Bush, about where he has been in recent months but still an anemic showing for a president within his own party. That included only 29 percent from the GOP who said they strongly approve of the job he is doing.

Underlining the widespread political polarization sparked by the Iraq war and other issues, just 7 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of independents gave positive marks to Bush's work. More

In Other News:
Despite releasing a legal opinion in Dec. 2004 that declared torture is "abhorrent," the Alberto Gonzales-led Justice Department issued a secret opinion shortly after his arrival in Feb. 2005 that provided "an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used" by the CIA. A lengthy New York Times expose describes the Office of Legal Counsel, headed by Steven Bradbury, as having become a politicized tool for the Vice President's office.

There were "317,000 applications for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week," and the biggest jump in four months. Analysts believe the increase "could be a further sign that the labor market is slowing under the impact of the worst slump in housing in 16 years."

President Bush's veto of SCHIP has divided conservatives. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) said yesterday, "We've got to do what we can to try to override" the veto. "If we're truly compassionate, it seems to me, we'd want to endorse this program," added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

After initial reports that the FBI agents investigating Blackwater in Iraq would be guarded by Blackwater, the agency announced last night that it won't use security guards employed by that company. The action was taken "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict."

3,315: Number of people in Iraq infected with cholera, according to the World Health Organization. Cases of cholera were first detected in Kirkuk on Aug. 14 and have now spread to all of Iraq's 18 provinces.

Senate leaders "have developed a plan that would allow them to move the controversial nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the FEC to the floor for a separate vote Thursday." Aides predict his nomination will pass, which would allow senators to "move to votes on the other three uncontested FEC nominees."

Is President Bush is buying a 100,000-acre ranch in Paraguay?

From The Right: Congressman Thomas Price: The Left?s Push to Silence Free Speech
Shockingly, Americans today face a Democrat Congress seeking to deteriorate our freedom under the guise of "fairness". Our First Amendment rights are being threatened by Congressional Democrats who seek the revival of the Fairness Doctrine, a law to drastically increase government regulation of free speech on television and radio.

From the Left: Scott Shane, David Johnston and James Risen: Secret US Endorsement of Torture Revealed When the Justice Department publicly declared torture 'abhorrent' in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations. But soon after Alberto Gonzales's arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Quote Of The Day: "If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democrat president. It’s kind of a pipe dream, it’s a personal fantasy of mine, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting so stupidly, at least single women." -Ann Coulter

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, McClatchy, Breitbart, AJC, NYDailyNews, USAToday, TheHill, PoliticalCartoons.com, Telegraph, WashingtonTimes)

International:
2 Koreas sign summit declaration
The leaders of North and South Korea pledged Thursday to seek a peace treaty to replace the Korean War's 1953 cease-fire and expand projects to reduce tension across the world's last Cold War frontier. Read details here...

U.N. Doubts Progress on Myanmar
Military rulers amp up propaganda to cover brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks and pro-democracy dissidents

National:
No Child Left Behind
Both the Senate and the House have passed an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with strong bipartisan majorities, but the Bush administration has vetoed it. Asked yesterday if there would be a ceremony today when the President signs the veto, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said, "I would not anticipate that there would be any ceremony."

Wiretaps
Jack Goldsmith, a former Bush administration attorney, told Congress yesterday that President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program was "the biggest legal mess [he] had ever encountered" and after leading an internal review, he "could not find a legal basis for some aspects of the program." Contradicting testimony by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who said there were no "serious disagreements about the program" within the administration, Goldsmith stated, "There were enormous disagreements," with the internal fight culminating "in a threat by Goldsmith, [former Deputy Attorney General James] Comey, and others to resign en masse if the program were allowed to continue without changes."

In Other News…
The Bush administration has made "seemingly inconsistent decisions" when releasing prisoners they deem "among America's most-hardened criminals" from Guantanamo Bay, according to Pentagon documents. Human rights groups contend that the documents show that the military panels are often "overridden by political expediency."

The State Department launched its own blog last week, called "Dipnote."

The Polish ambassador to Iraq was wounded and a civilian was killed in a car bomb that went off in downtown Baghdad today. Approximately 900 Polish troops are currently stationed south of Baghdad training Iraqi personnel.

White House Retaliates Against UK For Withdrawal: ‘British Forces Have Performed Poorly’ In Iraq

From The Right: Mike Gallagher: An Open Letter to Keith Olbermann
What is it going to take? What do I have to do to get your attention in order to be named one of your "Worst Persons In The World" on your nightly MSNBC show?

From the Left: Steven Thomma and Tony Pugh,: Bush Veto Strategy Threatens Republicans President Bush is putting his fellow Republicans on a collision course with the American people, forcing them to choose between guns and butter.

Quote(s) Of The Day: You see, what that meant is if you got a wire tap by court order -- and, by the way, everything you hear about requires court order, requires there to be permission from a FISA court, for example. President Bush -- April 19, 2004

Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution. President Bush -- April 20, 2004

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, WhiteHouse website, WashingtonTimes, WashingtonPost, CBSNews, USDeptOfState, PoliticalCartoons.com)

International:

Historic Summit
Kim Jong-Il welcomes South Korea's president Roh Moo-hyun to Pyongyang for second-ever summit.

Israel says it bombed Syria, but why remains a mystery
Nearly a month after a mysterious Israeli military airstrike in Syria generated political aftershocks from Washington to North Korea, the Israeli government lifted its official veil of secrecy Tuesday. Read more

Chiefs decry war in Pakistan
Pashtun tribal chiefs, who for centuries have held way in the Hindu Kush mountain range along the border with Afghanistan, say they are being thrust into an Iraq-style war between violent Islamists and the Pakistani army. Musharraf ally to lead military

The Other War

“Afghanistan is currently suffering its most violent year since the 2001 U.S.-led intervention, according to an internal United Nations report that sharply contrasts with recent upbeat appraisals by President Bush and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai.”

Britain to pull 1,000 troops from Iraq

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced today that he was slashing the remaining British contingent in Iraq by nearly 20 percent. A beleaguered Iraqi leader said his own forces would be ready to take up the slack in the country's oil-rich southernmost province in two months.

National:
Democrats Propose Tax Surcharge for War...

Arguing it is unfair to continue to pass the cost of the war in Iraq to future generations, three senior House Democrats Tuesday offered a longshot plan to raise taxes to pay for the $150 billion bill for the war in 2008. Read more here...

Pending Home Sales Index Hits Record Low

An index that forecasts near-term home sales fell in August to a record low as would-be homebuyers had difficulty getting mortgages. Economists said the housing market's woes show no sign of improving soon. Details

In Other News…

Government Accountability Office report reveals “federal employees wasted at least $146 million over a one-year period in business or first-class airline tickets.”

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released today shows that almost seven in ten Americans "oppose fully funding President Bush's $190 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan....with 46 percent wanting it cut sharply or entirely."

Limbaugh Slams Dems for Falsely Targeting Him Conservative talk show host steps up his criticism of Democratic lawmakers, saying efforts by members of Congress to target him are merely diversions meant to distract supporters from their failed efforts to get out of Iraq.

Fox Circles The Wagons Around Rush; Attacks Reid, Media Matters, And ‘The Left’

The Senate voted 92-3 yesterday to "pass a defense policy bill authorizing another $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." While the Senate policy bill authorizes the money to be spent, it does not guarantee it. "Bush will have to wait until Congress passes a separate appropriations bill before war funds are transferred to military coffers."

The Anti-Defamation League is calling on Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to "reconsider and withdraw" his comment over the weekend that the Constitution established America as a "Christian nation."

In his opening statement today, Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince will tell the House Oversight Committee that his company and its employees are victims of a "rush to judgment" about a shootout in Baghdad last month. Though Prince says Blackwater employees "acted appropriately," the Iraqi government has concluded that they were "unprovoked" when they opened fire.

From The Right: David Limbaugh: At War with Being at War In his column "9/11 Is Over," he laments that "we've become 'The United States of Fighting Terrorism.' I will not vote for any candidate running on 9/11. We don't need another president of 9/11. We need a president for 9/12." Alrighty, then. Let's just declare the war over.

From the Left: Ex-White House Lawyer: Eavesdropping Program Was Illegal Pamela Hess of "A former top lawyer for the Bush administration said on Tuesday said that parts of President Bush's controversial eavesdropping program were illegal."

Quote Of The Day: “The American people weren’t just failed by a president, they were failed by much of Washington.” Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., during his Chicago address today at which he proposed setting a goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons.

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, McClatchy, WashingtonTimes, SanFranciscoChronicle, CNN, MSNBC, PoliticalCartoons.com)

International:
Syria Says Israel Hit `unused Building'
Syrian President Bashar Assad confirmed Monday that Israeli warplanes attacked a target inside his country last month and didn't just intrude into its air space, but he said the jets hit only an "unused military building." More here...

Pakistan's Drama Continues A follower of Sharif takes part in a demo to protest his hero's deportation. Sharif flew from London to Islamabad after seven years in exile, but was sent to Saudi Arabia after just four hours on the ground. Details

National: Nebraskans Await Kerrey Decision on Senate Run
Democrats eyeing a potential gain of a U.S. Senate seat in the 2008 election are hoping Bob Kerrey won't abandon a potential run after being linked to convicted thief and Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu.

Conservative Christians to Consider 3rd Party Option
Some of the nation's most politically influential conservative Christians, alarmed by the prospect of a Republican presidential nominee who supports abortion rights, are considering backing a third-party candidate.

More than 40 Christian conservatives attended a meeting Saturday in Salt Lake City to discuss the possibility, and planned more gatherings on how they should move forward, according to Richard A. Viguerie, the direct-mail expert and longtime conservative activist. More here...

In Other News…
Gen. David Petraeus said the United States is prepared to "reciprocate" if Iran halts shipments of arms to Iraq's Shia Muslim militias. Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, rejected accusations that Iran is providing weapons. He added that Iran is ready to work with the U.S. to "help them materialize" a withdrawal from Iraq.

"For the fifth time since 2001, Congress is raising the debt limit, increasing it by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion. The Senate approved the plan on a 53-42 vote Thursday night. The House of Representatives has already signed off on the plan, without a direct vote."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates "told a group of U.S. House Democratic lawmakers that the multinational mission in Afghanistan is suffering from a lack of resources, citing the war in Iraq and the reluctance of U.S. allies to contribute more troops, participants at the meeting said."

Yesterday, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq "criticized a Senate resolution that could lead to a division" of the country "into sectarian or ethnic territories, agreeing with a swath of Iraqi leaders in saying the proposal 'would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed.'"

"Out of a political stalemate over Iraq, domestic policy is surging to prominence on Capitol Hill" this week, with "Republicans and Democrats preparing for a time-honored clash over health care, tax policy, the scope of government and its role in America’s problems at home." According to the Washington Post, Republicans view the shift away from Iraq as "a relief."

Defense contractor Brent Wilkes goes on trial tomorrow "to fight federal charges that he funneled more than $700,000 in bribes" to former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham "in the form of both cash and perks ranging from a Sea-Doo jet boat to the services of two prostitutes at a high-end Hawaiian resort."

Dow Jones Passes 14,000 for Record High

From 2002, Jim Webb warned we'd be in Iraq for a long time.

The US is training Gulf air forces in case of war with Iran.

Judge rules Bush can’t block presidential records.

Obama Raises $19 Million in Last Quarter

From The Right: Dinesh D'Souza: The New York Times' Left-Wing Discount Imagine if the New York Times gave half-price ad space to the National Right to Life Committee or the National Rifle Association. It would never happen, of course, but if it did, you can envision the left-wing clamor.

From the Left: Dean Baker: From WMDs to Social Security: More Bush Stories The latest Bush story is the cry that Social Security is going bankrupt and will impose an unbearable burden on our children and grandchildren. Of course, this is not the first time President Bush has gone after Social Security.

Quote Of The Day: "I heard Dennis Kucinich say in a debate, 'When I'm president... and I just wanted to stop him and say, 'Dude.' " Jon Stewart

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, WashingtonTimes, Telegraph, FinancialTimes, McClatchy, Bloomberg, CBSNews, ABCNews, PoliticalWire, Time)

International:

John Bolton: Attack Iran, 'remove' Ahmadinejad...

Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Tory delegates in Britain Sunday that efforts by the UK and the EU to negotiate with Iran had failed and that he saw no alternative to a pre-emptive strike on suspected nuclear facilities in the country.

Bolton said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was "pushing out" and "is not receiving adequate push-back" from the West."I don't think the use of military force is an attractive option, but I would tell you I don't know what the alternative is. "

"Because life is about choices, I think we have to consider the use of military force. I think we have to look at a limited strike against their nuclear facilities."

U.S. coordinates with Gulf nations on possible air strikes.
“The American air force is working with military leaders from the Gulf to train and prepare Arab air forces for a possible war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.”

National:

Gingrich Says He'd Have Been a Contender

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday he could have been a contender, but has no regrets about skipping the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Gingrich said he'd had a Web site ready to launch this week and already had received several million dollars in pledges.

"I think we would clearly have been competitive financially within three weeks, and we literally had not even set up the Web site yet," he said. "But what hit me was it would have been an underdog campaign. I mean, clearly, if you were going to come from behind, I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win." Find out more here

How Economy Could Survive OilAt $100 a Barrel The answer is quite well -- so long as several conditions still hold true. The price rise would probably have to be gradual. Inflation couldn't get so bad as to force big interest-rate hikes. Oil-rich nations would need to pump their profits back into U.S. and European economies. More here...

Leading Indicators Paint Bleak Picture for GOP
A little more than a year before the 2008 election, the major leading political indicators still point downward for the Republican Party, which was abruptly turned out of power in 2006 Full Story

All Rise: U.S. Supreme Court returns to a full docket
Justices to begin new session today, will consider rights of terror detainees, child pornography law, voting issues. Clarence Thomas Breaks Silence with Autobiography

In Other News… Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rejected a U.S. Senate proposal calling for the partitioning of Iraq. “Iraqis are eager for Iraq’s unity. Dividing Iraq is a problem and a decision like that would be a catastrophe,” he said.

An initial State Department report on a Sept. 16 shootout in Baghdad involving Blackwater USA says the private security contractors were “ambushed near the traffic circle and returned fire before fleeing the scene,” a depiction of events that contradicts Iraqi findings. Separately, State has confirmed that Blackwater personnel have been involved in 56 shootings while guarding U.S. officals this past year.

Pentagon Issues Blackwater New $92 Million Contract

Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker’s Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist, writes in a new article entitled “Shifting Targets" on how Bush’s case for hitting Iran has ‘Shifted,’ now focused on ‘surgical strikes’ to ‘sell’ it. Watch here...

From The Right: Kevin McCullough: Why Liberals Make Atrocious Parents
The leading liberals in America gave frightening clear evidence this week, that not only do they lack the wisdom to run the nation, but that by their own words they do not even understand the priorities of good parenting.

From the Left: Alexandra Zavis: Petraeus Now Admits to Rise in Iraq Violence General David Petraeus admitted that violence in Iraq has increased, contradicting his testimony before Congress earlier this month when he said that attacks between Sunni and Shiite factions fell dramatically since George W. Bush sent an additional 30,000 US troops into Iraq earlier this year.

Quote Of The Day: "Liberals love America like O.J. loved Nicole." Ann Coulter

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, DrudgeReport, NYT, WashingtonPost, MyWay, WSJ, JerusalemPost, Telegraph, YouTube, About.com, PoliticalCartoons.com)

International:
NBC: Bin Laden may have escaped in Tora Bora again.
U.S. intel officials report that just last month, one of the world’s two most wanted men — bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri — was sighted in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reported last night:

U.S. intelligence and military officials tell NBC News overhead surveillance from an unmanned U.S. drone spotted a large al Qaeda security detail, the kind of protection that would normally surround al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden or his number two Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Intel officials say there was “a high probability” that one of the two men was there. The coalition forces launched an assault for three days on the mountains of Tora Bora, but analysts said the response “was not quick enough to get him.” Military officials admit there were unidentified “planning and coordination problems.” Watch more on this story here

Sunnis may stop work with U.S. in Diyala

A U.S. effort to recruit former Sunni insurgents north of Baghdad — considered crucial to expanding the fight against extremists — is in danger of collapse because the government has been unable or unwilling to accept the volunteers into Iraqi security forces.

The potential breakdown in Diyala — described by U.S. and Iraqi officials in interviews this week — underscores the challenges of copying the military-militia alliances that uprooted al-Qaida in Iraq and other factions from strongholds in Iraq's western desert.

It also could threaten some of the gains of the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas, including the important battleground of Diyala where al-Qaida in Iraq claims the capital Baqouba as its base. Read more here...

National:
Minority Debate Snubbed by Top 4 GOPers
Candidates skipping Thursday's debate set off another: whether the GOP cares enough about minorities

Senate agrees to raise U.S. credit limit...

With the U.S. government fast approaching its current $8.965 trillion credit limit, the Senate on Thursday gave final congressional approval of an $850 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority.

The Senate voted 53-42 to raise the debt ceiling to $9.815 trillion, the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the higher debt limit earlier this year as part of the overall budget resolution and the legislation now goes to Bush for his signature. Details

Dollar Drops to New Low Against Euro

The dollar reached yet another low Thursday, its sixth consecutive trading day searching for, and finding, a new bottom against the euro.

The dollar made some gains later in the face of data showing that new U.S. home sales have tumbled.

The euro rose as high as $1.4189 - up from $1.4136 in New York late the previous day and above its previous peak of $1.4162, which it had reached early Wednesday.

However, it dropped back to $1.4146 in late-afternoon European trading. Get the scoop here

In Other News…

During his Senate testimony, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that despite his "intent" to move towards closing Guantanamo Bay, he has run "into several obstacles put up by lawyers within the executive branch."

Gates also asked Congress yesterday for "an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," bringing the total request for 2008 to $190 billion -- "the largest single-year total for the wars so far."

A federal judge ruled yesterday that "two provisions of the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional" because they allowed federal surveillance and searches of Americans without demonstrating probable cause.

Verizon Wireless is refusing to allow Naral Pro-Choice America "to make Verizon's mobile network available for a text-message program," claiming it has "the right to block 'controversial or unsavory' text messages."

Insurgents in Iraq staged six car bombings across the country yesterday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens. "We have seen an upturn in levels of violence in the last few days," said Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner.

"Seven months after a major investigation spelt out Europe's involvement in a murky U.S. torture and kidnapping programme, the EU's governments have claimed they are powerless to prevent such human rights abuses in the future."

2 Patriot Act provisions ruled unlawful

And finally: Jena 6 Teen Mychal Bell Freed on Bail Pending Juvenile Trial

From The Right: Nathan Tabor: MoveOn's Misfire It would be foolish to discount the political power of the Internet phenom known as MoveOn.org. After all, it claims 3.2 million members, and there's no denying that it has become a major player in the Democratic Party.

From the Left: William Rivers Pitt: Dan Rather's Magnum Opus The willful collusion between CBS management and the Bush administration, offered by Rather to frame his accusations, illuminate an insidious, grotesque, and altogether deadly alignment of circumstances hiding in plain sight before the entire American populace. An explanation for why the legitimate fears and anxious uncertainties of the people are never soothed or clarified by mainstream news outlets like CBS, but are instead methodically aggravated and intentionally amplified by those outlets, begins to take shape in light of Rather's inside-view revelations.

Quote Of The Day: "Childrens do learn."-- President George W. Bush, quoted by the Washington Post urging Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.

(Sources: TownHall, TruthOut, Reuters, AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, MSNBC, DrudgeReport, NYT, TheHill, IPSNews, PoliticalCartoons.com, PoliticalWire)