World:
12 Turkish troops killed near Iraq border
Kurdish rebels ambushed a Turkish military convoy on today less than three miles from the Iraqi border, killing 12 soldiers in the face of growing threats by Turkey to cross the rugged frontier and root out the guerrillas.

Turkey shelled the border region in response to the attack, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani – himself a Kurd – ordered the rebels to lay down their arms or leave Iraq. Turkey dismissed his call, saying the time had come for action.

Israel: Militants Plotted To Kill Olmert
Israeli officials on Sunday said they foiled a recent attempt by Palestinian militants to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a trip to the West Bank and warned the plot could hurt prospects for an upcoming U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference.

Palestinian officials said Olmert was never in imminent danger and accused Israel of trying to exploit the plot to hinder progress before the summit.

Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been trying to hammer out a joint document outlining their common vision for a future peace agreement. They hope to present the document at the peace conference, which is expected to take place in Annapolis, Md., in November or December. Get the details here...

Kristol: Iran Is ‘The Only Real Threat’ To Success In Iraq
We’re winning in Iraq. That is the absolute crucial precondition to having success in the broader fight against Islamic jihadism. … And I think we are going to have to be serious about dealing with both their intervention in Iraq — which is now the only real threat, I think, incidentally, to relative success in Iraq — and their nuclear program. Watch here

Iraq critic wins Polish parliamentary elections
Challenger Donald Tusk of the Civic Platform party ousted current prime minister and strong Bush ally Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland’s parliamentary elections today. During the election, Tusk promised that “if elected, he would try to bring home the 900 Polish troops in Iraq.”

National:
Cheney: 'We Will NotAllow Iran to Have Nukes'
The United States and other nations will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

"Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions," Cheney said in a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.

He said Iran's efforts to pursue technology that would allow it to build a nuclear weapon are obvious and that "the regime continues to practice delay and deceit in an obvious effort to buy time."

If Iran continues on its current course, Cheney said the U.S. and other nations are prepared to take action. The vice president made no specific reference to military action.

"We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Rumsfeld’s Revenge
A story in tomorrow’s Washington Post reports that early in 2004, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld became angry that the Pentagon was losing control over reconstruction efforts in Iraq. In return, he refused to provide military security for diplomats, forcing the State Department to rush to Blackwater.

Huckabee: Next terror attack may come from Pakistan
Huckabee said the next terror attack on the U.S. could originate in Pakistan.

Pelosi Stumbling as House Leader
Nancy Pelosi took office amid much fanfare 10 months ago, proposing "a new direction" for America. But her recent stumbles have given her critics more ammunition. FULL STORY

Thompson Gives 5 Minute Speech To FL GOP; Dozens Ask 'Is That It?'...
Rudy fired up the crowd. John had them chuckling. Mitt spun family yarns. And Fred left them wanting more. The leading Republican presidential candidates brought their own style, swagger and substance to an Orlando convention hall Saturday for a state party gala that solidifies Florida's spot on the political map.

Plame’s CIA job was to stop Iran from obtaining nukes
In her first interview since Bush administration officials outed her as a covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson reveals to CBS 60 Minutes that she was involved in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. In the interview to be aired this Sunday, CBS reports that she was “involved in one highly classified mission to deliver fake nuclear weapons blueprints to Tehran.” Watch it

Cat Fight Hisses in GOP Presidential Debate
Candidates go for each other's jugulars trying to prove to GOP base voters that each is the most conservative candidate.

In Other News...
The Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday voted 13-2 to approve a bill tightening rules on government wiretapping. The legislation would also contains a "highly controversial" grant of legal immunity for telecoms, a provision demanded by the White House.

136: Number of people who were killed by a suicide bomber in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday. Thousands turned out for the return of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Oil prices have soared to "another record high," hitting $90.07.

From The Right: Michael Reagan: Promises, Promises In 2006 Nancy Pelosi promised the American people that if they would vote to give Democrats control of Congress, making her Speaker of the House, they would come to Washington and "drain the swamp."

From The Left: NYT Editorial: With Democrats Like These ... Every now and then, we are tempted to double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year. It was particularly hard to tell this week. Democratic leaders were cowed, once again, by propaganda from the White House and failed, once again, to modernize the law on electronic spying in a way that permits robust intelligence gathering on terrorists without undermining the Constitution.

Quote Of The Week: “Unfortunately, ‘I told you so,’ is an incredibly unsuccessful campaign slogan.”
-- DNC Chairman Howard Dean, quoted by the New York Times.

(Sources: AP, FOXNews, ThinkProgress, NewsMax, WashingtonPost, CBSNews, YouTube, Reuters, AFP, WashingtonTimes, CNN, NBC, PoliticalWire, TownHall, TruthOut)