Are we there yet?

Is this “civil war” yet?

It appears we’re well into the region of “chaos” and since it’s at the extreme polar opposite of “peace” I can only conclude that “chaos” = “civil war.”

Now what?

It does seem that the graphic chaos presented on the Powerpoint slide itself is probably a reflection of our ability to extricate ourselves from this debacle:


The concluding sentence is nearly lost in the font-ridden mess, but it deserves some attention:

“Urban areas experiencing ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaigns to consolidate control…violence at all-time high, spreading geographically.”

Meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld blathers on (Oct. 1, 2006):

“ ‘You can look at the things that are on the plus side. You can look at the things that are on the minus side,’ [Rumsfeld] said.

“But he indicated that, while ‘one robin does not a spring make,’ he was able to draw some encouragement from recent developments in Baghdad. ‘I guess it’s probably close to a month of effort now with the increased forces, that progress is being made and that the numbers of killings are down and the number of assassinations are down and the violence is down,’ he said.”

The reality:

Data: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_casualties-months.htm

“Rumsfeld minimized the importance of recent polls showing a majority of Americans opposed to the war in Iraq, and cited the volatility of polling data. “What’s important is what’s right. What’s important is what makes sense,’ the secretary said. ‘And over time, the American people find their way to right decisions.’ ”

Hopefully we’ll see some of those “right decisions” being made this Tuesday…