More Mideast News

And now, on to serious news.

The war in Iraq hasn't yet produced the moment where everything goes to hell - that is, an event comparable to the Tet offensive in Vietnam - but we're getting dangerously closer to that point. America has a new arch enemy in the form of Muqtada al-Sadr, a young Shiite Muslim cleric who has angrily denounced the U.S. occupation and is coordinating a militia (the Mahdi Army) to force the Americans and other foreign troops out. So now we're fighting Shiite Muslims as well as Sunnis, who held power in Iraq when Saddam Hussein ran the show. Major battles in the Shiite spheres of influence outside of Baghdad have strained the Marines involved in the fighting, and our allies are grumbling publicly about the course of the war. And now that we're dealing with al-Sadr, we've been distracted yet again from our search for Osama bin Laden. the situation in central Iraq is a powder keg ready to explode.

Meanwhile, Condolezza Rice testifies before the 9/11 commission tomorrow morning. Bush is counting on a masterful performance from his national security adviser, and by that he means a testimony that is devoid of substance but full of charm and blather that will fend off the commission's toughest questions. Let's see what unfolds, then.