The Plank

A new Government Accountability Report suggests that the Sunni militias credited with helping reduce violence in Iraq are having trouble becoming normal members of society, which suggests that recent security gains may be short-lived, writes James Martin. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is likely to retire her $22.5 million presidential campaign debt by either transferring it to her Senate campaign committee or by getting Barack Obama and his backers to help pay it off, write Nicole Allan and Bess Kalb. She’s unlikely to pursue a third option – reach a settlement with the Federal Election Commission to pay back a lesser number – as that would preclude her from running for office again, Allan and Kalb write.