Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Controversial Word Combination
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold is calling on the president to stop using the phrase "Islamic fascists" to describe terrorists, saying it "causes people to believe their religion is under attack."
But while Feingold called the term "insulting," he's not saying the terrorists aren't Islamic and he's not saying they're not fascists. Instead, he says using the two together "puts the name of Islam in an exceptionally negative light."
Feingold suggests calling the terrorists "extremists who exploit Islam," but his complaint may be moot. President Bush hasn't used the phrase "Islamic fascism" since August 10.
Sick of Stereotype
Meanwhile, the man known as the "moderate" leader of Britain's Muslim population says the U.K. will face millions of Islamic terrorists unless it stops "demonizing" Muslims.
The head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, accuses police officers and the media of treating all Muslims as if they're terrorists, saying if that behavior continues, "Britain will have to deal with two million Muslim terrorists, 700,000 of them in London."
Bari, the chairman of a prominent London mosque, had been seen as Prime Minister Tony Blair's main ally in the Muslim community, but now says his group has been "marginalized" by the government.
Defeat Disputed
A Marine commander in Iraq's Anbar province is disputing claims about a classified Pentagon report which reportedly concludes that the U.S. has been defeated there.
The Washington Post cites officials who say the report paints a pessimistic picture of a land with no functioning government institutions — leaving Al Qaeda to fill the void.
But Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer says the report failed to "capture the entirety and complexity of the current situation," saying the assessment was focused on the causes of the insurgency, not the positives that security forces have achieved.
Zilmer acknowledges that progress has been challenging, but says: "We have seen progress made. Not just in the area of security, but in economic development and the establishment of social order and public services."
No Apology
Missouri Democratic Senate Candidate Claire McCaskill continues to take fire for accusing President Bush of racism in the response to Hurricane Katrina, saying: "George Bush let people die on rooftops in New Orleans because they were poor and because they were black."
Top Republicans have called the remarks "outrageous" and demanded an apology. McCaskill hasn't granted them one and tells KMOX radio she was merely acknowledging the sentiment of many Americans that President Bush displayed "gross incompetence that turned tragic," saying, "The Bush administration needs to accept blame for the tragedy in Katrina."
—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.
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