Today's edition of quick hits:
* With new reports indicating that Syria is considering use of chemical weapons, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued new warnings today for the Assad regime.
* Israel faces major diplomatic pushback: "Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to protest Israel's plans for increased settlement construction, an unusually sharp diplomatic step that reflected the growing frustration abroad with Israel's policies on the Palestinian issue."
* Afghanistan: "A squad of nine suicide bombers attacked a major U.S.-Afghan air base in the eastern city of Jalalabad just after dawn Sunday, detonating explosives at the front gate and sparking a lengthy firefight with Afghan and NATO forces inside."
* Egypt: "Egypt's political crisis is widening, with plans for a huge march and a general strike Tuesday to protest the hurried drafting of a new constitution and decrees by President Mohammed Morsi that gave him nearly unrestricted powers."
* Transforming the Defense Intelligence Agency: "The Pentagon will send hundreds of additional spies overseas as part of an ambitious plan to assemble an espionage network that rivals the CIA in size, U.S. officials said."
* Less than a month after winning re-election, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) is resigning to become CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
* For the record, building the Death Star would be one heck of a stimulus/infrastructure project.
* And offering proof that the right is never satisfied, conservatives are now complaining that the Obamas are celebrating Christmas too much.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.