It seems these past seven months the Bush administration and their GOP cheerleaders (Lieberman notwithstanding) have been enjoying a false sense of security with regards to the Iraq debacle. Troop presence is up and violent incidents are down but there is one key ingredient both the leaders in Washington and the news media have left out.
Where has leading Shi'a cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr been? You know, the guy who commands the largest sectarian army in Iraq?
Well it turns out, he's been holding to a cease fire all this time while the progress netted since September has been improperly attributed to the so-called "surge" strategy. With the recent rocket attacks taking 42 lives in Iraq this week it appears that Muqtada Al-Sadr and his Shi'a militias are back on their dirty game again.
Bad news for the 100 year McCain strategy, but unfortunately worse news for the troops.