I don’t have time to do this justice, so consider this an extended “wire” post. Basically, violence is trending downward, but it’s unclear whether this is a result of U.S. strategy or other events on the ground, namely ethnic cleansing being mostly complete or pacts between competing Shiite factions. So, we’ve got good news and reassuring trends. This could mean good things or it could mean nothing. I’m hoping for the best.

Without any more commentary, here are the links:

Good reading, and all full of good links to even more.