Cursor's Media Patrol - 09/25/06

A "stark" National Intelligence Estimate contradicting repeated claims "that Americans are safer as a result of the administration's policies," may be "stating the obvious," but nonetheless manages to spark a "pitched battle" in the media.

Some American soldiers in Baghdad complain that "the Iraqi troops serving alongside them are among the worst they've ever seen," while Needlenose raises questions about the relatively small percentage of Iraqi troops in Baghdad.

A New York Times analysis of the "compromise" detainee deal finds "a series of interlocking paradoxes," with little agreement about what it means, the Washington Post notes that its language is intentionally "opaque," and Sen. McCain's attempt to explain how the bill will be interpreted leaves unanswered questions.

Elizabeth Holtzman argues that President Bush "is quietly trying to pardon himself" in a move that has "Dirty War precedents," as "rights groups, military lawyers and legal scholars" denounce the Republican compromise on detainees, but there is still no word from the other party.

The Army's top officer stages an "unprecedented" protest to send the message that it's billions short of what it needs for its current mission, the Army's 3rd Division 'makes do' with inadequate equipment, and the National Guard may be facing a November surprise.

Think Progress catches Chris Wallace telling two lies during his interview with Bill Clinton, and Juan Cole puts the interview in context, comparing the tough questions Wallace asked Clinton to the softballs he threw to Bush administration figures.

"A growing number of state and local officials are getting cold feet about electronic voting technology," according to the New York Times, but Diebold defends the refusal to allow testing of the machines, comparing granting "access to the buttons" to "launching a nuclear missile."