The whole place will collapse under pent-up hostilities between Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians, and garden-variety terrorists.

Instead of an American neocon-engineered democracy, Iraq will be governed as a police state with checkpoints, barriers, and no-go zones everywhere.

Mission accomplished.

To me, this piece just seems lazy. "Captain Sean Chase." Is he an Army Captain or a Captain in the Marine Corps? And if he is leading Marines, why are they addressed in the piece as "soldiers"?

If this is all we're to expect from the meager information that dribbles out of Iraq, might we at least request a fair amount of detail for those who might have friends and family serving?

That said, I'll take any information I can get--even information that reiterates truths reported over and over again (Sunni scared of visiting Shia-dominated health facilities? You don't say!).

The fact that Baghdad still is a hell-on-earth after we Americans have been there for so many years... And that life is worse under us Americans than it was under Saddam.

It is interesting to read that Iraqis paint their gates blue to ward off evil spirits. Greeks use blue to deflect the Evil Eye. And Upper Midwestern Salon posters get the blues when they think of Evil Dick Cheney.

Seriously. I don't give two shits about that damn place anymore. All I want is for the GOP to stop wasting our money in that shithole and spend it here, in America on Americans. We have too many problems at home that need fixing to be wasting our money on that stupid war.

Lazy journalism....but Badkhen's headline grabbed me in nonetheless, hoping for a tidbit of truth, because my son, a Sgt. in the army - is on his third deployment to Iraq in 5 years. The first 2 were a little over a year each. This one is going on 15 months now. Unlike the 1st deployment where I obsessively spent every spare moment glued to CNN and (gulp) FOX in hope or fear I might glimpse my son in the clips, I almost try to avoid any coverage these days. It frustrates me, saddens me, scares me. The cities and towns there are in a constant state of flux, as are it's inhabitant's hospitality or hostility.

His first deployment found him in the rooftop seat of a HumVee w/ a 50. caliber rifle. One day they all 'earned' their Purple Hearts...thankfully no one died. They also did a lot of house to house raids.

His second deployment sounded safer but wasn't. His job? Running escort convoys alongside oil tankers...from Iraqi oil fields over to Turkey's border.(????) Naturally they were frequent targets. During this time my son went to many memorial services. (But hey, this wasn't about oil, right???)

During this 3rd deployment he and his boy's duties will vary. "Mostly kickin' in doors, kickin' in doors" he says with...is it boredom? The only time, until recently, that I detected any concern whatsoever in his voice or on the page was when he described this trip's most unsettling event so far - the Iraqi army had paid no heed whatsoever to their repeated attempts to alert them by radio to a pre-assigned night meeting at the Iraqi post...something they did nightly. This time, the Iraqi's open fired on them unexpectedly and relentlessly. Oops. Seems they'd all fallen asleep and somehow couldn't make out that these were U.S. troops.

Other than the above, my son is usually pretty mum about what is happenning. (After a weekend trip to his stateside base for a visit last summer, and being privvy to more stories from 'overheard' troop-chatter than I cared to hear, I now understand why so much is kept from us at home. They seem...Stepford-like when they are together and laughingly recount old stories, seemingly devoid of any emotion attached to their accounts.)

Around his family and Mom, my son will more often than not keep what's currently going on pretty low-key and quiet. I'm careful not to overreact (well, not 'over-react'...let's say 'react w/ any emotional response') when I DO hear something, as I don't want my 'source' to dry-up.

I got a brief and rare email from him yesterday from Saddhr(sp?)City - after a long time not hearing anything. His atypical response to my letter's questions was simply this: "Heavy shit. Heavy, heavy shit, Mom. I'll write more when I can."

We won't hear it on television though. Afterall, things are quiet and going swimmingly well, right?

Not knowing...it's as bad as knowing.

Forgive my length here.

There'll be gated communities all across this country.

God bless your son. (I started to write "God bless and keep him," but I don't want God to keep him. I hope God sends him home.)