------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------ President Bush met today with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan. Afterward, the Prime Minister said Iraqi security forces will be ready to take over command by June 2007. Meanwhile, the Iraq Study Group finished deliberations yesterday, and according to the New York Times and the Washington Post, their report, due out next week, will call for major withdrawal of U.S. troops and more diplomacy to enlist help in Iraq from other nations. Read the story from the Washington Post here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15961338.
Go to www.politics.msnbc.com for more on all of today's political news, and check out "Blogging Baghdad," reports from NBC reporters and producers in the war zone http://baghdadblog.msnbc.com/. Tonight on Hardball, we'll get the latest from NBC's Richard Engel in Jordan. Plus, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat down today for an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, and we'll hear what Rice had to say about Iraq. And what do Prime Minister al-Maliki's comments today mean for U.S. troops? Gen. Wayne Downing (Ret.) will be here to talk about that. What toll will the conflict in Iraq take on the President's second term - and his legacy? We'll continue the discussion and hear more on today's meeting in Jordan from MSNBC Political Analyst Pat Buchanan and Democratic strategist and HotSoup.com co-founder Michael Feldman. Click here for today's HotSoup: Mood grim as Americans weigh 'last' chances for success in Iraq http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15968013/. And in January, Sen.-elect Bob Corker (R-TN) joins Congress as a member of the incoming minority. Tonight, he'll be here to talk about Iraq, the role his party will have in the new Congress and how the field is shaping up for 2008 - without the man whose seat he's filling, outgoing Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN). Also today, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) kicked off his bid for president, the first Dem to officially throw his hat in the ring http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15969341/. Plus, read the latest on two other possible contenders - Barack Obama, from MSNBC.com's Tom Curry http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15969751 and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who says it's time to move past "the joke" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15966727/. Stories you may have missed today: -- Chuck Todd: Hillary Clinton's primary problem: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15966833/ -- Chris Cillizza's "The Fix" from washingtonpost.com http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/ -- Boston Globe: Falwell says he hasn't endorsed Romney http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/30/after_newspaper_report_falwell_says_he_hasnt_endorsed_romney/ -- NBC's "First Read" http://firstread.msnbc.com -- MSNBC.com's Political Calendar http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14708421/ -- Wednesday, Hardball's David Shuster spoke to Jim Lehrer from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Read an except of Lehrer's new book, "The Phony Marine" here http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400064861. Shelby Poduch compiled the Hardball Briefing in Washington, D.C. ========================================= This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. You have received this The Hardball Briefing Newsletter newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone forwarded it to you. To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this message was forwarded to you) simply go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7140407/, select unsubscribe, enter the email address receiving this message, and click the Go button. Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052 MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT http://privacy.msn.com <http://privacy.msn.com/>