iraq really seems to be coming apart these days, sadr's supporters have taken control of najaf. i can't imagine any way to see this other than as a setback for the administration. i mean, for the first time since saddam's regime fell, they are not in control of an iraqi city, instead someone hostile to the american occupation is. meanwhile, marines are fighting a separate battle with sunnis in fallujah. i'm not seeing many happy iraqis or painted schools.
but not everyone sees it that way. after writing the below post i've been cruising the other wing of the political blogisphere and it really feels like another planet. over there, today was a good day in iraq (i didn't see any mention of najaf), richard clarke is an obvious liar, condi rice is the greatest orator that ever lived (they were salivating over her coming testimony) and every offhand comment made by kerry is picked apart with a demand for consistency that is strangely absent when they talk about president bush.
it was quite depressing, and not because i disagreed with them. does my site seem as strange and disconnected from reality to them as theirs does to me? i left a few comments to see how receptive they are to alternative views, but i'm not hoping to get much out of the places i visited. there must be some conservative that will admit when his viewpoint suffers from setbacks, or at least, address the argument that recent events are a setback. i dunno. maybe i do the same thing and am blind to my own blindness.
if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments.
