The latest news on the Financial bailout, Justice deparment investigation, Gate's critique of the Pentagon, U.S. Africa command, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, and select opinion artilces

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Financial bailout. House Rejects Financial Rescue, Sending Stocks Plummeting "A bipartisan rebellion in the House killed a $700 billion rescue plan for the nation's financial system yesterday, sending global stock prices plunging, prompting fierce recriminations on the presidential campaign trail and dealing President Bush his worst legislative defeat." Trying to Avoid Economic Calamity, Lawmakers Grope for Resolution "Defying President Bush and the leaders of both parties, rank-and-file lawmakers in the House on Monday rejected a $700 billion economic rescue plan in a revolt that rocked the Capitol, sent markets plunging and left top lawmakers groping for a resolution." Markets plunge after House rejects financial rescue bill "The historic effort to rescue the U.S. financial system was thrown into doubt after the House rejected a $700-billion emergency plan, causing the most devastating stock market collapse in 21 years and the deepest one-day point dive ever by the Dow." Fear and caution rule in Congress' bailout vote "The surprise defeat of the Bush administration's financial rescue plan was a product of the waning influence of a lame-duck president and the nervousness of members of Congress, whose institution is even less popular and who faced a flood of angry messages from constituents." Bailout vote underscores U.S. leadership crisis "None of the country's political leaders could deliver a solution to America's financial crisis. Not President Bush, a discredited lame duck not trusted by his own party. Not Barack Obama or the Democrats' congressional leaders who couldn't deliver a majority. And certainly not John McCain and his congressional colleagues, who persuaded only 30 percent of House Republicans to vote for the package."

Justice department investigation. Lawyer to Continue Inquiry Into Prosecutor's Firing "Top Justice Department officials named a longtime public corruption prosecutor yesterday to explore the basis for firing a U.S. attorney in New Mexico two years ago, escalating the uproar over political infusion in the process and raising the specter of a criminal investigation of lawmakers, White House aides and former department officials." Prosecutor Is Named in Dismissal of Attorneys "Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed a federal prosecutor to continue an investigation into the dismissals of nine federal prosecutors in 2006 as an internal Justice Department inquiry concluded that political pressure drove the action against at least three of them."

Gate's critique of Pentagon. Defense Chief Criticizes Bureaucracy at the Pentagon In a far-reaching critique of the way the Pentagon fights wars and buys weapons, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said that the military must understand the limits of combat power and its leaders must be skeptical that technology can bring order to the violent battlefield." Military force, technology have limits, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warns "He urged his audience to have an "appreciation of limits" of military power, arguing that although the U.S. has achieved huge advances in targeting and intelligence that have made attacks more precise, warfare is "inevitably tragic, inefficient and uncertain."

U.S. Africa command. The Pentagon's new Africa command raises suspicions about U.S. motives "The U.S. Africa Command, the Pentagon's first effort to unite its counterterrorism, training and humanitarian operations on the continent, launches Wednesday amid questions at home about its mission and deep suspicions in Africa about its intentions."

Iraq. For U.S. and Sunni Allies, a Turning Point "Across Baghdad, leaders of the groups speak about the transition in similarly apocalyptic terms. Some have left Baghdad, saying they fear that the Iraqi government will conduct mass arrests after the handover. Others are obtaining passports and say they will flee to Syria." 'The Longest Campaign of the Long War' "In an interview with SPIEGEL, General David Petraeus, until recently commander of the American forces in Iraq and future head of the US Central Command, discusses his new job, progress in Baghdad and how lessons from Iraq may apply to the escalating situation in Afghanistan."

Afghanistan. Afghan President Karzai asks Saudi Arabia for help in Taliban peace talks "Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he has asked the king of Saudi Arabia to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the Afghan conflict."

Pakistan. New Pakistan spy chief appointed "The military in Pakistan has appointed a new head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Lt Gen Ahmed Shujaa Pasha is a former head of military operations who launched recent offensives against militants near the Afghan border."

Iran. Teheran: Enrichment will continue "Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said in his weekly briefing that enriching uranium was Iran's "right" and that it intended to continue to do so."

Somalia. Ethiopia calls for UN peacekeepers to serve in Somalia, "Ethiopia's foreign minister on Monday called for the U.N. to deploy peacekeepers to neighboring Somalia, where Islamic militants appear to be gaining strength." Somali pirates 'ringed by warships' "Several foreign warships have surrounded a Ukrainian freighter off the Somali coast following its seizure by pirates, a Somali official says. The Faina, which is carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware, is being observed by ships from the US and European Union," For U.S. Navy, high stakes in pirate standoff "They may be cornered by high-tech U.S. destroyers and cruisers -lethal warships flying the flag of the mightiest navy in the world. But the sandaled pirates who seized a cargo vessel laden with Russian battle tanks off the coast of Somalia still stand a good chance of escaping unscathed or even being rewarded for their crime, maritime security experts say."

Sudan. Accusations Against Leader of Sudan Fuel Debate "The possibility that the International Criminal Court might indict President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan on charges of genocide and war crimes in the coming months prompted an intense tug of war at the United Nations General Assembly that ended Monday." Vow to pursue Sudan leader "The International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor has told the BBC he will continue to push for Sudan's leader to be charged with war crimes."

Lebanon-Syria. Lebanon, Syria blame bombings on Islamic militants "Lebanese and Syrian authorities each placed blame for recent bombings in their countries on Islamic militants tied to Al Qaeda and probably based in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon." Syria says suicide attacker behind weekend bombing "The attack that killed 17 people in Damascus this weekend was carried out by a suicide bomber who belonged to a Muslim extremist group, Syria's state-run media said Monday."

Editorials.

Rescue the rescue (Chicago Tribune) "Moving past Monday's rejection of a $700 billion rescue plan for U.S. credit markets means confronting several truths-some of them uncomfortable for Americans of various political stripes:"

Editorial: Want to save economy or play politics? (Dallas Morning News) "Given the choice between playing populist games and salvaging the economy, the U.S. House chose politics."

Get back to work on rescue bill (Des Moines Register) "When the Bush administration brought a proposal to Congress a week ago to rescue Wall Street, it was clear the federal government and the nation's financial institutions faced a major test. Congress failed that test, at least as measured by the stock market's record drop in value Monday."

Bailout failure: Political leaders must do better (Kansas City Star) "The American public had a lot of qualms about the financial bailout plan that the U.S. House narrowly defeated Monday. It could be further improved and better explained to the country, and that's the urgent task that now faces the country's political leadership."

A Dangerous Moment (London Times) "At 3.23pm Eastern Standard Time yesterday, the House of Representatives voted down the controversial bailout plan that was designed to shore up the US banking industry. This marked a dangerous moment in history. For the plan was not just about saving Wall Street bankers: it was also about protecting the livelihood of millions from a deep economic recession."

Commentary.

Revolt of the Nihilists (David Brooks, New York Times) "House leaders of both parties got wrapped up in their own negotiations, but did it occur to any of them that it might be hard to pass a bill fairly described as a bailout to Wall Street?"

When Madmen Reign (Bob Herbert, New York Times) "I'm not holding my breath, but I would like to see the self-proclaimed conservative, small government, anti-regulation, free-market zealots step up and take responsibility for wrecking the American economy and bringing about the worst financial crisis since the Depression."

Churches ought to stay out of politics (Cal Thomas, Columbus Dispatch) "This pulpit rebellion also presumes that congregants lack a worldview or knowledge about candidates and politics that only a pastor can address. In my church, we have many highly educated people, Republicans and Democrats, who would not take kindly to the pastor discoursing on politics anymore than they would accept legal or medical advice from their auto mechanic."