Lex calls the current events in Iraq a Magic Mirror:
Depending on who you trust, everything is all going to hell in Iraq because of the fighting in Basra and the strike/rioting in Sadr City, or everything is unfolding as it must in order for the Iraqi state to own a monopoly on organized violence - a principal characteristic of national sovereignty.Reports are contradictory, chaotic and incomplete. Even in Diyala, people are on edge--I could hear it in the voice of the coalition Commanding Officer for the province speaking about militias on the Blogger's Roundtable yesterday. I'm reminded of how I felt during the opening weeks of the Iraq war--hoping for the best, but knowing what I was seeing unfold was beyond my ability to truly understand or define at this point.
I'm back to praying at a level I haven't for quite awhile--not just for the safety of the "good guys" involved, but for their wisdom and success in this new mission/challenge.
God be with the good guys...
