Defining Iraq's New "Normalcy"

Ya gotta love George Bush. Less than two weeks ago he proudly declared that "normalcy is returning back to Iraq." Barely had he finished uttering those words before the Shiite hit the fan in the southern city of Basra--A city which had remained relatively calm over the last several years.

And the cause? Well, despite our brilliant leader's repeated assertions that the war in Iraq is all about fighting Al Qaeda, the fierce fighting in Basra had nothing to do with the radical Sunni group. Rather, this was a showdown of sorts between the Iraqi government (dominated by one Shiite faction)and a different Shiite faction led by Muqtada al-Sadr. Basically, when the government tried to take control of Basra, the militias which had been maintaining the peace said not so fast.

And who won? Well, the government eventually declared victory despite the relatively minor detail that al-Sadr's forces remain in control of 80% of the city. This may seem like an odd definition of the word "victory," but it also fits with Bush's new interpretation of "normalcy."

Then yesterday new fighting erupted in Baghdad itself. Several rockets were fired from a Shiite neighborhood towards the Green Zone, the vast walled compound which is supposed to be an oasis of calm in the madness of Bush's Iraq. Again, it wasn't Al-Qaeda that fired them, but rather a completely native Iraqi group. And while rockets and mortars have occasionally hit the Green Zone before, this time they caused serious damage. Two American soldiers died in the attacks and 17 were wounded. Fearing an even further escalation of the fighting, residents have begun fleeing Baghdad.

And who's caught in the crossfire of this violent power struggle? America's military, of course. While an average of one soldier had died per day over the last four months, eleven have died during the last two days.

No doubt President Bush feels that America's economy is also in a state of "normalcy."