Rising tensions with Shia in Iraq

Any scuffle between U.S. troops and Shia in Iraq is extremely worrisome -- especially when it involves Sadrists, like yesterday. Now that the U.S. has finally acknowledged the "possibility" of a civil war, it's imperative that we not get in the middle of it. The most likely way to increase anger on all sides is for the U.S. to act as a proxy for one side or the other (or both, which I wouldn't put past this incompetent political and military leadership).

It's also nice to see Senator Clinton catch up with noted liberals such as Bill O'Reilly, William Kristol, and Andrew Sullivan in calling for Secretary Rumsfeld's firing. Better late than never, I suppose. But everybody in America -- everybody -- should be calling for his departure. I've never understood the analogy of "not changing horses in the middle of a race." The job of SecDef is to keep the U.S. safe through a series of events, and his incompetence, with by far the best military in the history of the world, is really quite shocking. Imagine if the Yankees (biggest payroll and best talent, just like our military) had a .500 record for three straight years (and I'm being generous; I think the Secretary, on balance, is worse than .500, but for the sake of argument). Think the manager would still be around? Heckuva job, Rummy.