Us against them, them against us, Shia against Sunni, Kurds against Turks, Baathists against Kurds, militia against police, security forces against insurgents, insurgents against terrorists. And our troops…

…caught in the middle of it all.

When I read this frightening piece, I was reminded of the climax of Louis de Bernières brilliant anti-war novel, (Captain) Corelli’s Mandolin, which portrays the tragic confusion and wholesale slaughter in the aftermath of the Italian-German occupation of Greece during World War 2.  Read more 

Pick one:

(a) OMG!!! Raise the terror code to RED!!! Where’d I put that plastic and duct tape, Tom? You were right Loud Obbs, they ARE inside our borders [pause to breathe into paper bag to calm hyperventilation]

(b) Ho hum. Page 29b. Shall we run this at all, boss? There’s an update on Anna Nicole’s baby’s daddy’s diaper rash here someplace….

Simultaneous raids carried out in four Alabama counties Thursday turned up truckloads of explosives and weapons, including 130 grenades, an improvised rocket launcher and 2,500 rounds of ammunition belonging to the small, but mightily armed, Alabama Free Militia.  Read more 

Would that it had happened in 2003. (See below the fold)

Leaving aside such transcendent luminaries of political horror as Hitler and Stalin, it is hard to imagine a more well-deserved exit from this mortal coil than Zarqawi’s.  Read more