[Allegra]

The terrorists can manipulate Sunni opinion by inciting a civil war where Shi'ites are attacking Sunnis. It's a desperate and cynical tactic. It might just work.

But then it might not.

Bad guys on both sides tried to ramp it up in April '04. Things did get very bad then, but the civil war they (and the media) wanted never materialized because cooler heads and a few bombs on Fallujah prevailed.

[Dog Gone]

Of course, we're hoping this doesn't escalate, and with a couple of votes under their belts, maybe the general population has no appetite for a civil war.

We need to get the Saddam trial over with and him hanged. That will crush any continuing aspirations of the Ba'athists. And we need to catch Zarqawi and send him to Jordan where he's already under a death sentence.

And it wouldn't hurt if Sadr had an unfortunate accident.

It won't solve everything, but it would go a long way.