Meanwhile in Iraq

Visiting Senators McCain and Lieberman slam Iraq report: A Congressional delegation headed by US Senators John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, and Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday that they are squarely against the Baker-Hamilton report calling for the US to engage in dialogue with Iran and Syria, according to officials present at the meeting.

Baker accused of skirting US sanctions on Saddam: The law firm at which former US Secretary of State James Baker is a senior partner used an Israeli middleman to bypass US sanctions on Iraq and push through a multimillion-dollar collection effort involving the regime of Saddam Hussein, according to an Israeli businessman who said he mediated the deal.

Attacks in Iraq at Record High, Pentagon Says: A Pentagon assessment of security conditions in Iraq concluded Monday that attacks against American and Iraqi targets had surged this summer and autumn to their highest level, and called violence by Shiite militants the most significant threat in Baghdad.

Gates warns failure in Iraq would be a 'calamity': The former CIA chief pledged to give president George Bush his honest advice on the costly and unpopular war, and said he would go to Iraq soon to see what US commanders believe should be done to quell the growing violence.

At least 21 killed in another day of bloody day in Iraq: A total of 12 bodies, including two women, were found in different parts of the religiously mixed city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

More Than 65 Killed Monday In Iraq: Police found 44 bodies in various parts of Baghdad over the past 24 hours, an Interior Ministry source said.

White House, Joint Chiefs At Odds on Adding Troops: Joint Chiefs think the White House, after a month of talks, still does not have a defined mission and is latching on to the surge idea in part because of limited alternatives, despite warnings about the potential disadvantages for the military, said the officials

White House: more U.S. troops in Iraq under consideration, no rift with Joint Chiefs: The White House said Tuesday that increasing U.S. troops in Iraq is an option under consideration and denied that there are differences with the Joint Chiefs of Staff over that idea.

Pentagon: Iraq suffers 1,000 attacks a week: The average number of attacks per week on American and Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians from mid-August to mid-November increased by 22 per cent from the previous three months, the largest number since Iraq regained its sovereignty in June 2004.

Iraq on brink of collapse: report: Iraq is on the brink of total disintegration and could drag its neighbors into a regional war, a leading think-tank said, after the Pentagon confirmed violence was at an all-time high.

Iraq becoming failed state: Radical action is needed to save a "hollowed-out and fatally weakened" Iraqi state and ease violence that a new Pentagon report says is at an all-time high, a prominent think-tank warned on Tuesday.

Pentagon: Sadr now main Iraq problem: Al-Qaida in Iraq has been replaced by Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army as the most dangerous group fueling sectarian violence, a U.S. Pentagon report says.

Maliki's Ties to Sadr Complicate U.S. Mission in Iraq: The United States is counting on Maliki to take responsibility for securing and governing Iraq, but he has blocked U.S. attempts to crack down on Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army.

Blair Iraq war support 'a debacle': The foreign police of Tony Blair, the British prime minister, has failed because of his inability to influence Washington and his successor must carve out a leading role for Britain within Europe instead, a UK think-tank has said.

Iraq executes 13 prisoners, shows video: Video released by the government showed the men wearing hoods and green jumpsuits, and standing against a wall shortly before they were hanged. Some images showed two men standing together on a gallows with nooses around their necks.

War criminal seeks forgiveness, on road to White House: Sen. Clinton qualifies Iraq vote: U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she wouldn't have supported a call for action against Iraq if she knew then what she knows now.

In case you missed it: Hillary Clinton: No regret on Iraq vote: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is not sorry she voted for a resolution authorizing President Bush to take military action in Iraq despite the recent problems there but she does regret "the way the president used the authority."

The Iraq Study Group Report: Defeat With Honor: That's what it is: a plan for defeat with honor. To put the report in very simple terms, its message is: The United States got its ass kicked, time to go. Or, if you prefer a direct quote: "The ability of the United States to shape outcomes is diminishing. Time is running out." And later they ponder how to "avert catastrophe."

Why we stand for immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq, By Tariq Ali, Arundhati Roy, Howard Zinn and many others: Iraq's infrastructure has been destroyed, and U.S. plans for reconstruction abandoned. There is less electricity, less clean drinking water, and more unemployment today than before the U.S. invasion.