There, I said it. Writing this story took courage:

To study the full effects of the troop increase at ground level, reporters for The New York Times repeatedly visited at least 20 neighborhoods in Baghdad and its surrounding belts, interviewing more than 150 residents, in addition to members of sectarian militias, Americans patrolling the city and Iraqi officials.

This reporting certainly took a lot more courage than Bush showed; he just touched down at an airbase on his way to Australia, and never left the grounds.

And the story?

But when he announced on Jan. 10 his plan to add 20,000 to 30,000 troops to Iraq, Mr. Bush emphasized that Baghdad was the linchpin for creating a stable Iraq. With less fear of death in the capital, “Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas,” he said.

That has not happened. More than 160,000 American troops are now in Iraq to help secure 25 million people. Across Baghdad — which undoubtedly remains a crucial barometer — American and Iraqi forces have moved closer to the population, out of giant bases and into 29 joint security stations. But even as some neighborhoods have improved, others have worsened as fighters moved to areas with fewer American troops.

Dealing with intermittent electricity, few jobs, widespread corruption and fresh memories of unspeakable horrors, Iraqis of all sects are scrambling for power, for control.

Will Thomas Hobbes please pick up the white courtesy phone?

The whole story is horrible and reminds me forcibly of the "state of nature" the Republicans produced in NOLA. Chaos is, indeed, the plan. Here's the final vignette:

First Sgt. Timothy Johnson’s experience of the National Police is particularly stark. Driving in mid-June past a National Police checkpoint, Sergeant Johnson, a 43-year-old from El Paso, waved at the smiling Iraqis he knew well, and received friendly waves back.

Barely 50 feet later a sophisticated roadside bomb known as an explosively formed penetrator hit the rear of his Humvee, missing the crew but blowing his luggage out into the road. The same smiling police officers promptly stole his computer, mobile phone and camera and demanded a $40 bribe to give the computer back.

It's a Clusterfuck.