Things are really improving in Iraq

[tocqueville]

In June, the Interior Ministry said 12,000 Iraqis had been killed nationwide by insurgents in the previous 18 months, but that figure excluded insurgents killed in military operations and civilians killed by American troops or Iraqi security forces.

The morgue's figures apply only to Baghdad, and there is no reason to believe that other cities are witnessing a parallel rise in violence. But the number of bodies received at Baghdad's morgue has risen steadily this year, from a low of 596 in March to July's 1,100. Last year the morgue received 8,035 bodies -- more than 60 percent of them gunshot victims -- but 2005 is on track to exceed that number.

Body count in Hussein's era

"In the days of Saddam, we had maybe 16 shootings a month," Bakr said. "Now we have more than that every day."

Just as disturbing, Bakr said, are the growing number of reports of mass killings, some of which appear to be motivated by sectarian hatred. The bound bodies of 20 abducted Shiites were found in western Baghdad last week, and a Shiite family of eight was slaughtered in their home last month, in two examples of killings that appeared to stem from the deepening hostility between Shiite and Sunni Muslims that has accompanied the transfer of power to a Shiite-majority government.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20050811/ts_chicagotrib/bombsbadenoughbutgunsworseinbaghdad

[Dhalgren]

1. When the "all-out" civil war comes to Iraq (and it will), what will the

various Sunni Arab states in the region do? Will they join in with their Sunni brethren in Iraq against the Iraqi and Iranian Shiites? Will this plunge the whole region into a Muslim civil war? Will Southeast Asia become involved? Will this take much of the pressure off of Israel? Will oil prices go down as the oil states try to finance the civil war with increased sales? Will Russia and China join the US in meddling in this civil war?

As they say, "Hey, I'm just asking!"

[KyndCulture]

2. Oh yeah freedom is on the march...

"In the days of Saddam, we had maybe 16 shootings a month," Bakr said. "Now we have more than that every day."

I want to shove this quote down every repuke bush supporters throat....

[malmapus]

3. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw the other day

"Be good, or we'll bring freedom and democracy to your country too!"