"One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally," Knight-Ridder's Kevin Hall reports.

Middle East expert and author Stephen Zunes dissected some of George W. Bush's "simplistic formulations" made during the State of the Union (SOTU) address. Bush stated, "there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure.

The Lincoln Group, the PR firm charged with placing U.S. friendly stories in the Iraqi press, has recently created a new staff position: director of media relations. The firm, which was one of three defense contractors awarded a $300 million Pentagon contract to help out with winning the information war, apparently needed help burnishing its own image.