The Bright Spot That Is Southern Iraq

The New York Times plays catch-up on the story of Southern Iraqs march toward a Shiite theocracy. But the NYT, it what is one of the more amusing attempts at giving two sides of the story, notes "There is an upside." Basra is a pretty safe place if you're willing to conform to a strict interpretation of Shiite Islam. After all, who needs a poster of Eminem, when you can have a poster of Ayatollah Khomeini with the words: "All the problems of Islam stem from colonialism and the Great Powers."

I'm sure the Mullahs and Shiite parties like God's Vengeance and Master of Martyrs are most thankful for our efforts on their behalf.

Of course, more good news is that the British aren't suffering the number of casualties we are and will be able to execute their planned draw down. Given the excellent track record Islamic theocracies have on standing up against terrorism, protecting women's rights and human rights and respecting other faiths like Judaism, Tony Blair must be quite proud of himself.

On an even lighter note, the NYT piece contained this nugget --- Iraq has a river called the "Shatt." Try & say that wiothout laughing.