Daily Briefing: It's Not the Heat, It's the Low-Intensity Civil War
Things continued to spiral ever more out-of-control in Israel and Lebanon, with Hezbollah firing 200 rockets into Israel Wednesday and Israel's ground troops engaging in "fierce fighting" throughout Lebanon. Agreements for an international peacekeeping force are being hashed out. [ NYT ]
American Orthodox Jews are being courted by Republicans, who see themselves as being more staunchly pro-Israel than their opponents. [ WP
A number of members of congress have children or close relatives serving in the Armed Forces in Iraq. "A White House aide, who requested anonymity because his information was preliminary, said Wednesday that he knew of no top Bush administration official who had a relative who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan." [ NYT ]
The out-going British Ambassador to Iraq warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that civil war is more likely in Iraq than Democracy. He said it would be "messy" for 5-10 years. [ BBC ]
Connecticut Senate primary race: "[Ned] Lamont, a political novice, has support from 54 percent of likely Democratic voters in the Quinnipiac University poll, while [Sen. Joe] Lieberman has support from 41 percent of voters." [ AP ]
The Administration will present legislation to Congress giving "clarity" to the Supreme Court's detainee treatment rulings. [ NYT ]
If the Democrats fail to take Congress this year, veteran Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) will quit. [ NYT ]
It's hot. [ NOAA ]