Another day, more carnage in Baghdad. Official reports from Iraq and Afghanistan are also sobering:
"Reporting indicates sectarian violence is increasing," although the trend is hard to quantify, [Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, the DIA director] said. "The elections appear to have heightened tension and polarized sectarian divides." He referred to voting in December for a new permanent parliament under the country’s recently ratified constitution.
Maples said that "the perception of sectarian violence is increasing" in both Sunni areas and those dominated by the Shiite Muslim majority, and that "we continue to see a rise" in attacks led by al Qaeda in Iraq against Shiites and their religious shrines.
Elections as a catalyst for civil war? Let’s hope not.
The Dish 