US Navy – The US continues to look for naval applications for blimps.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Navy hopes blimp can be eye in the sky

Background – Secretary of Defense – Thomas Ricks looks at Secretary Rumsfeld’s current standing.

• Washington Post: Iraq Takes a Toll on Rumsfeld

Background – Diplomacy – Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright describes how since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has pressured every country in the world to make a simple choice: Are you with the United States or with the terrorists? But by casting the choice so starkly–and expanding the war on terror to include its campaign in Iraq–Washington has alienated many natural and potential allies and made the fight against al Qaeda more difficult. It didn’t have to be this way. The White House has acted as if it doesn’t care what others think, and the country is paying the price for its mistake.

• Foreign Affairs: Bridges, Bombs, or Bluster