the latest news on War funding, Iraq, Iran, Kurds - Turkey, Darfur, Domestic violence, Mexico and selected Op-Eds.

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War funding. Bush Asks Congress For $46 Billion More In War Funding "President Bush challenged Congress to another clash over the direction of the Iraq war yesterday as he asked lawmakers for $46 billion more to pay for overseas military operations and insisted that they approve it by the end of the year." Bush's Request for Wars Increases to $196 Billion "President Bush asked Congress on Monday to approve $196 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security programs, setting the stage for a new confrontation with Democrats over the administration's handling of Iraq."

Iraq. US says Iraq air strike kills 11, mostly civilians " The U.S. military said it killed 11 people in a helicopter attack on a group of men seen planting a roadside bomb north of Baghdad on Tuesday, but police and residents said the dead were farmers, women and children." Iraqis weigh limits on U.S. military "Leaders in the Iraqi parliament said Monday that they were taking steps to examine the U.S. military presence in Iraq with an eye toward possibly restricting the force's activities, in a continuing backlash over an American raid that Iraqi officials say killed 13 civilians." Deadly U.S. raid inflames tensions in Sadr City "Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood seethed with anger Monday over a U.S. military raid that U.S. officials said targeted a kidnapping ring. Iraqis said the raid killed as many as 17 civilians, including women and children."

Kurds - Turkey. Turkey presses Iraq and US "The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, today warned his country could not 'wait forever' as troops lined the Iraqi border in preparation for an attack on Kurdish guerrillas." U.S. Warns Iraq to Halt Rebel Raids On Turkey "The United States has warned Iraqi leaders to take concrete steps to crack down on Kurdish rebels operating against Turkey from northern Iraq, as Turkey yesterday dispatched more troops and heavy weaponry toward the Iraqi border." Bush works to avert Turkish military incursion in Iraq " President Bush scrambled Monday to avert a full-scale military assault by Turkey against Kurdish rebels inside northern Iraq, urging Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to stop cross border attacks by the separatist group known as the PKK." Bush Administration Urges Iraqi Kurds to Help End Raids Into Turkey "American officials acknowledged that neither the United States nor Iraq had done much recently to constrain the Kurdish group whose raids into Turkey have heightened tensions along the border."

Kurds - Iran. In Iraq, Conflict on a Second Kurdish Front "A chillingly similar battle has been under way on the Iraqi border with Iran. Kurdish guerrillas ambush and kill Iranian forces and retreat to their hide-outs in Iraq. The Americans offer Iran little sympathy. Tehran even says Washington aids the Iranian guerrillas, a charge the United States denies. True or not, that conflict, like the Turkish one, has explosive potential."

Darfur. Sudan to declare Darfur ceasefire " Sudan will announce another ceasefire in its four-and-a-half year conflict with rebel groups in Darfur at the weekend, it emerged today." Disunity hobbles upcoming Darfur talks "Fracturing rebel groups have spent a week trying to formulate a negotiating platform for peace discussions in Libya. But egos are getting in the way."

Iran. Ahmadinejad criticized over nuke envoy "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have gained greater short-term power with the resignation of Iran's top nuclear negotiator, but the departure appears to have further damaged the president's standing among many conservatives in the Islamic republic." Iranian MPs add to nuclear splits "More than 180 Iranian MPs have signed a letter praising former chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who has resigned from his post. A top foreign policy adviser to Iran's supreme leader also said Mr Larijani should not have been allowed to resign."

Domestic violence. Churches fight violence from pulpit " Years after activists and social service agencies began talking about domestic violence, there's a local push to get houses of worship to address this problem that exists in so many of their congregations."

Mexico. Bush wants $1.4 billion for Mexico drug war " The White House announced Monday a $1.4-billion military and security package to assist Mexico and several Central American countries in their fight against drug-trafficking groups threatening the region's democracies." White House unveils plan to help Mexico fight drug trafficking "The Bush administration on Monday announced a $1.4 billion, multi-year initiative to help Mexico defeat powerful drug cartels whose turf wars have left several thousand dead and led President Felipe Calderon to deploy his military."

Op-Eds.

Make Walls, Not War (By PETER W. GALBRAITH, New York Times) "Let's face it: partition is a better outcome than a Sunni-Shiite civil war. There is, in any event, little alternative to partition. Iraq cannot be reconstructed as a unitary state, and the sooner we face up to this reality, the better."

Romney's Dilemma (EJ Dionne, Washington Post) "Let's say it unequivocally: Mitt Romney's Mormon faith should not be an issue in this presidential campaign. Period.

And then let us explore why the Mormon 'issue' may be unavoidable -- and what Romney and the rest of us should do about it."