Richard N. Haass, CFR president and an expert on the Middle East, says the congressional testimony by the top two U.S. officials in Iraq has to a large extent “regained control of the Iraq debate” for the Bush administration.

I recently returned from Iraq and four other countries in the Middle East, my first trip to the region since December. In the intervening five months, almost everything about the American war effort in Baghdad has changed, with a new coalition military commander, Gen. David Petraeus; a new U.S. ambassador, Ryan Crocker; the introduction.....>>

Seattle's alt-weekly "The Stranger" has an very interesting look into the world of Chris Crocker, right in the middle of his 15 minutes of fame. Turns out he's not an art student or a scammer, he's just a gay teenager trapped in a hostile little town in the deep south.

William H. Crocker Middle School is a public middle school located in Hillsborough, California, a suburb about 20 miles south of San Francisco, as part of the Hillsborough City School District. Other schools in this district include South, North and West Elementary Schools. Alicia Silverstone is a famous alumni of this school. Awards and recognitionWilliam H. Crocker Middle School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon Award from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve, on four separate occasions: 1982-83, 1988-89, 1995-96 and again during the 2004-05 school year. Also, principal Janet Chun received the "Community Care Award" for being the most caring and helpful faculty member in the Hillsborough, California School district. References^ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), accessed May 11, 2006^ 2004 No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public Middle Schools, accessed November 3, 2006