Not exactly civil

Things sure are looking good in Iraq. To listen to a lot of right-wing nutjob commentators and bloggers, the whole country is one big happy face.

Then how do they explain this? This is the Pentagon talking. You know, that place with all the generals? Our military leaders. The guys with direct lines to the guys in the ground in Iraq.

WASHINGTON -- Sectarian violence is spreading in Iraq and the security problems have become more complex than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, the Pentagon said Friday.

In a notably gloomy report to Congress, the Pentagon said illegal militias have become more entrenched, especially in Baghdad neighborhoods where they are seen as providers of security as well as basic social services.

The report described a rising tide of sectarian violence, fed in part by interference from neighboring Iran and Syria and driven by a "vocal minority" of religious extremists who oppose the idea of a democratic Iraq.

Not exactly in the same vein as this little piece of partisan propaganda last week from the conservative International Republican institute:

In a recent poll, more Iraqis, who live in Iraq, say Iraq is headed the right direction than Americans who merely watch TV reports about Iraq or read newspaper reports about Iraq.

Doesn't quite square with what our military leaders are saying, now does it?

Today's AP story continues:

"Death squads and terrorists are locked in mutually reinforcing cycles of sectarian strife," the report said, adding that the Sunni-led insurgency "remains potent and viable" even as it is overshadowed by the sect-on-sect killing.

"Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in and around Baghdad, and concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population has increased in recent months," the report said. It is the latest in a series of quarterly reports required by Congress to assess economic, political and security progress.

Mission accomplished!

Peace is at hand!

And so it goes.