JEFF JARVIS has a roundup of Iraqi blog posts, which offer interestingly varied perspectives on what’s going on. Zeyad is particularly depressed, but Alaa offers this point, which seems clearly true:

I hope you all realize that a major objective of the enemy is to produce defeatism in the U.S. and allied nations home front, counting on the democratic process to force the hand of policy makers. The War in fact never stopped from the first day of the fall of the Icon….

One thing is fundamental though: Once you start exercising firmness it will be disastrous if you falter and show weakness again. Diplomacy and politics are essential of course, but the arguments of the strong are always much more convincing.

Indeed. Meanwhile David Schuler wonders why Sadr’s Iranian support is getting so little media attention.