Sadrists Reload as Virginia Mourns

For anyone who still thinks that the Iraq war is going swimmingly, yesterday we learned that Moqtada al Sadr (pictured at right, in poster) has effectively pulled out of the government. The militia leader, who reportedly has a 60,000 man armed force, ordered his six of the 38 Parliament representatives to leave and go home.

I realize that this news may have been lost in the horror at Virginia Tech, but for the average Iraqi, disasters like VT's occur daily in every province. Now, with the Sadrist secession, we have ensured that more violence will be directed at US forces and anyone who cooperates with us. Just yesterday, 51 Iraqis were killed or found dead, and for a country one-tenth the size of the US, that would be comparable to over 500 in the US. Where's the outrage?

As terrible as the killings at Virginia Tech are, Americans are confident that they are an aberration which will be corrected with awareness and added security. The likelihood of this incident spinning into a regional war is zero. In Iraq, such violence has become a way of life, and is increasing with no end in sight. At some point, a tipping point is reached with such violence. The factions avenge old grudges, demagogues appeal to the basest instincts, armies are created to grab land and resources, civilians are killed in spite and the educated middle class leaves. And Bush sends a few more soldiers to stoke the flames.

I don't know the answers for Iraq. But I also know that Bush doesn't either. Every day that goes by, we are dug in even deeper and every decision made the last five years has been the wrong one. Every single one. So I'm pretty confident that the next one will be wrong, too.

We mourn our dead in Virginia (at left) and try to gain some insight as to how this could happen so we can prevent another such incident.

In Iraq, they are still in the midst of an escalating firefight and our leaders have no clue.