Iraq: When A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Still need proof that the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has devolved into chaos?

Try this:

Nearly three and a half years after President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished," the military plane carrying Condoleezza Rice and a State Department entourage was 40 minutes late landing at Baghdad International Airport because of mortar fire or a rocket attack. Both are such regular occurances that no one was sure which it was.

Condi and her crew had to wear body armor because the heavily guarded airport and its perimeter still aren't safe.

The evening of her arrival, Rice met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (who looks for all the world like an aging Matt Lauer, no?) The lights went out, a regular occurance, forcing Jalal and Condi to continue their chat in the dark.

Meanwhile, there has been another orgy of car bombings in the capital and at least least 21 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since last weekend, most in Baghdad.

Misison Accomplished, indeed!

'DRIFTING SIDEWAYS'

One can only conclude at this late date that they're smoking some pretty good dope at the White House, which continues to insist that progress is being made in Iraq.

John Warner, the Republican from Virginia and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sees things differently.

Warner believes that the situation in Iraq is "drifting sideways" and cites the upsurge in deaths and continuing failure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to disarm warring factions. Says Warner:

"In two or three months, if this thing hasn't come to fruition, and if this level of violence is not under control, and this government able to function, I think it's a responsibility of our government, internally, to determine: Is there a change of course that we should take?"

More here.

STATE OF THE POLICE STATE

About 4,000 national policemen have been killed and more than 8,000 others wounded in the last two years, but Iraqis continue to enlist in the force.

The national police are increasingly in the news because they have replaced American troops as the prime focus of insurgent attacks and became some units are suspected of collaborating with sectarian militias and insurgents.

The Eighth Brigade, a 700-member police unit in Baghdad, was suspended after some of its officers were suspected of taking part in the kidnapping and killing of Sunni workers from a meat plant.

More here.

ONWARD AND UPWARD IN ANBAR?

Iraq is not bereft of good news, and if Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters is to be believed, tribal leaders in Anbar Province are following through on their pledge to work together against terrorists.

Concludes the Captain:

"The tribal backlash shows why the Zarqawi strategy was always a loser. Al-Qaeda needed to win over the Iraqi people to its radical Wahhabist vision, a tough sell in a majority Shi'ite nation. Instead, Zarqawi tried to start a civil war with the short-term goal of getting America to run away from it. That would separate the Sunni areas of Iraq from the oil-producing areas of the nation, locking them into poverty and granting their sectarian opponents the riches of the nation. That's especially true in western Iraq, where Anbar lies, and the tribes have begun to realize the long-term dangers of such a split.

"Maliki has managed to make a deal in everyone's best interests in Anbar. Hopefully the tribal leaders can maintain the enthusiasm when they create a formal fighting force for the region under the auspices of the Iraqi government. The al-Qaeda insurgency appears ready to fall in Anbar."

More here.