The Light At the End of a Longass Tunnel

IPs in Basra (photo NYT)

After their entire means of enforcing law and order was dismantled in a poor decision by Bremer, the Iraqis are finally in charge of their own security. It's a bit odd that the New York Times chooses to cast the "celebratory" tone of this Iraqi accomplishment in a bad light:

In the past few weeks, nationalist sentiments have spread within the Iraqi government and military, with officials all but boasting that Iraq is ready to handle the security situation on its own.

Speaking as a military parade marking the event was held deep inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said, “The national united government succeeded in putting down the sectarian war that was threatening the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq.”

A strong sense of nationalism seems to be one of the best methods of ethno-sectarian rivalry, both in Iraq and elsewhere, and doesn't necessarily mean that the Fourth Reich is coming back to power. Danger Room is also skeptical of this spirit, but it's good news for the Iraqis...and our military! They've still got bullshit to deal with in other godforesaken countries and dwindling resources to get the job done. Mission almost accomplished.