by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important or interesting (or both) Washington-related stories.
British officials publicly linked to al Qaeda the attempted car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow but offered no evidence. They had arrested at least five suspects, including a physician, though none apparently were British citizens. There appeared to be an Iranian Kurdish tie though it was unclear what the grievances of that ethnic group might be against Britain.
The Iraqi civilian death toll fell in June to its lowest level this year, according to the Iraqi government. But it was immediately unclear whether the statistics were accurate or related to the U.S. military surge.
Iran is using the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to arm Shiite militants in Iraq while an elite Iranian military group helped militants carry out a January operation in which five U.S. soldiers were abducted and killed, according to a U.S. general.
President Bush is fixated on Iraq yet remains serene and upbeat, according to friends, acquaintances and scholars who have met with him. Not generally known for intellectual curiosity, Bush is having philosophical discussions with thinkers as he tries to come to terms with how his administration will be viewed by history.
Support for the U.S. missile shield is falling in the Czech Republic and Poland where the system is supposed to be deployed and Congress isn't as sold on the necessity of the system as the Bush Administration is.
Sen. Barack Obama raised $32.5 million during the past three months breaking the record for a presidential candidate during an off-election year.
Sen. Patrick Leahy said he was willing to go to court to seek contempt charges against the White House for failing to comply with congressional subpoenas to produce information for the probe into the firing of federal prosecutors.
Terrorists and illegal drug groups are moving money around the world through commodities trading which can often be hidden among legitimate transactions, making it harder for counterterrorism and law enforcement officials to track the financing.
Effective lobbying by the meat industry and other agricultural interest groups, has prevented the country-of-origin labeling law passed five years ago from being applied to their products.
The U.S. is engaged in a grassroots public diplomacy effort to improve its international reputation but skeptics say it's too little, too late.
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