The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Amanda VanAllen, Will Cantine, Jayce Henderson and J.P. Lawrence

WAR ON TERROR ABC News' Muhammad Lila: " Leaked Osama Bin Laden Report Accuses Pakistani Officials of 'Gross Incompetence'" "Gross incompetence" and collective failures by Pakistani political and military leaders allowed al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden to evade capture while living for years in Pakistan, according to a published copy of the official Pakistani government investigation into bin Laden's life and death. The report, referred to as the "Abbotabad Commission," is a scathing critique of how an often inept Pakistani political and intelligence infrastructure allowed the world's most wanted man to live in Pakistan for nine years - six of them in a compound in Abbottabad, less than a mile from a Pakistani military academy. LINK

ELIOT SPITZER The New York Daily News' Celeste Katz: " Scott Stringer Surprised by Spitzer's Last Minute Controller Run" Scott Stringer was surprised by Eliot Spitzer's decision to run for city controller - and had no contingency plan for the last-minute challenge, aides said Monday. Team Stringer heard for weeks of a possible opponent for the Democratic nomination, but the rumors could not be confirmed, aides said. LINK

Politico's MJ Lee: " Wall Street Braces For Comptroller Eliot Spitzer" When Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York governor amid a humiliating prostitution scandal, no one cheered louder than Wall Street. More than five years later, the industry's outspoken antagonist is attempting to make a political comeback - one that could cause serious headaches for bankers and across corporate boardrooms. Spitzer, 54, is vying to be the next New York City comptroller. The job carries far less public prominence than governor or attorney general, the post from which Spitzer earned the nickname "Sheriff of Wall Street" for his battles with American International Group and the New York Stock Exchange, among others. LINK

Bloomberg's Michael Tackett and Emily Freeman: " Spitzer Belies No Second Acts In Comebacks From Infamy" Eliot Spitzer is hardly the first U.S. politician who didn't let infamy get in the way of a comeback. With his announcement yesterday that he'll run in the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller five years after a prostitution scandal drove him from the governor's office, Spitzer joins a long list of Democratic and Republican officials who have turned F. Scott Fitzgerald's maxim that "there are no second acts in American lives" on its head. LINK

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The New York Times' Mark Mazzetti and Matthew Rosenberg: " U.S. Considers Faster Pullout In Afghanistan" Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a "zero option" that would leave no American troops there after next year, according to American and European officials. LINK

The Washington Times' Guy Taylor: "' Coup' In Egypt Would Put U.S. In A Delicate Dilemma Over Aid" The White House was careful Monday to avoid calling Egypt's regime change a "coup," underscoring the dilemma President Obama faces as he tries to manage a thorny conflict between the Egyptian military's actions and U.S. law, which bans aid to countries where a coup has taken place. "This is an incredibly complex and difficult situation," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters in response to questions about how the Obama administration viewed the Egyptian military's ouster last week of Mohammed Morsi, the nation's first democratically elected president. LINK

USA Today's Michael Winter: " Report: Iran, Sudan Using U.S.-Made Monitoring Tools" Apparently skirting U.S. sanctions, Iran and Sudan are using Silicon Valley-made Internet-monitoring devices on government and commercial networks, the Washington Post reported Monday. It's not known exactly how the tools, from Blue Coat Systems in Sunnyvale, Calif., are being used. Citing computer experts, the Post writes that the products "could empower repressive governments to spy on opponents." LINK

IMMIGRATION The Hill's Pete Kasperowicz: " GOPer: 'We Can't Trust The President' On Immigration Laws" Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) said Monday night that Republicans who oppose the Senate's immigration bill don't trust President Obama to enforce the border enforcement provisions in that bill. LINK

RICK PERRY The Washington Post's Dan Balz: " Rick Perry's Exit Marks The End Of An Era - And A New Frontier For Texas Politics" Texas politics opened a new chapter Monday when Gov. Rick Perry (R), the longest-serving chief executive in state history, announced that he would not seek a fourth full term in 2014 amid widespread speculation that he might make another run for president in 2016. For the past two decades, Perry and former president George W. Bush, who preceded him in the governor's mansion, have dominated politics here. Bush cemented Republicans in power after a century of Democratic rule. Perry pushed the party and the state even further to the right during his decade-long tenure. LINK

BUDGET The Wall Street Journal's Jared A. Favole and Damian Paletta: " White House Sees Smaller Budget Deficit in 2013" The White House on Monday lowered its projection for economic growth this year while issuing rosier estimates on unemployment and the federal budget deficit. In its annual "mid-session review" budget update, the White House said it expects the economy to grow 2.4% this year, lower than the 2.6% it projected in April. The White House blamed the slower projection in part on the across-the-board federal spending cuts that began in March, as well as slower growth in China and Europe. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO " Is The US Considering Cutting Off Aid To Egypt?" LINK

" President Obama's 'Smarter Government' Plan" LINK

" Teresa Heinz Kerry Hospitalized" LINK

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