A SHOW OF DEMOCRACY
item: Minor Sunni political fits getting ever so slightly shorter, as part of Sunni Block comes back (that is, until they leave again, this fall). Separately, the bounds of Iraqi Shia-arriviste incompetence may be narrowing, but I suspect the jury is out on that ...
MOVING THE BALL DOWNFIELD
The Dieux Du Stade calendar image captures the alacrity with which we are moving our balls downfield.
"We are, in short, a long way from the goal line, but we do have the ball and we are driving down the field."
But, Baghdad isn't nearly as secure as we thought it might be, so ... why? What is wrong with the tactics and/or what is not 'working'? This isn't a nitpick. Why isn't 'progress' infectious - stability should be, after a period of nightmare?
The achievements in some other areas - for example, in some particularly challenging Baghdad neighborhoods and in reducing overall civilian casualties, especially those caused by periodic, barbaric al-Qaeda bombings - have not been as dramatic.
BEND OVER FOR VICTORY
It's just another $50 billion - or more than 1.5 times Iraqi GDP - to "win" ... this year.
