The Sunday Times in the U.K. is reporting that the Israelis are planning to nuke the Iranian nuclear sites. The Israelis are denying the story. I suspect the story was planted in order to ratchet up the pressure on the Iranians and the international community to put an end to the Iranian drive for nuclear weapons.

Speaker Pelosi vows the Administration will not get a 'blank check' for the war in Iraq. Still, she doesn't go as far as the peace activists, who want a cut-off of funds for the war.

James Carroll, writing about the execution of Saddam Hussein, essentially calls George W. Bush a murderer.

David Gelertner has a different view, writing that he believes the execution was an all too rare example of a tyrant facing justice.

The New York Times has this front-page article about the "surge" plan the President will announce later this week. The Times believes it will involve a series of benchmarks for the Iraqi government to reach.

Jackson Diehl, writing in the Washington Post, thinks it is foolish to believe that any American plan for stability in Iraq can be accomplish in six to twelve months. He thinks it is only possible if we stay at it for six to twelve years.

Michael Barone says we should expect a bitter clash in the coming months in Washington over Iraq.

Reuel Marc Gerecht lays out the consequences of failure in Iraq.

That is the key, as far as I am concerned, to this debate. Are we willing to accept defeat and take the consequences? I think the only way the President can win the political debate is to put it in those terms. He should clearly tell the American people that if we withdraw from Iraq, it will mean that we have lost the war. Is that what you want? If so, here are the consequences. Every person in the administration who comes out and testifies before Congress or appears in media interviews should clearly state, over and over again, what it will mean if we lose this war. The only way to rebuild public support for the war effort is to, first, clearly explain the consequences of defeat and, second, clearly explain how our military effort can lead to victory. The President must also make certain the American people understand he is willing to go all-out to win. If he continues to rely on half-measures, as he has done from the beginning, the American people will not buy what he is selling.