Dear Mr. President: Al-Qaida isn't the problem in Iraq

The Los Angeles Times writes today on a report from the Defense Department to Congress that says Muqtada al-Sadr's army is the greatest threat in Iraq.

The Times' story also includes an unsubtle swipe at President Bush, who has continued his campaign to link the war in Iraq to the war on terror by blaming al-Qaida for the violence there. This latest survey would seem to put the lie to that particular canard.


Insurgents cutting off Baghdad's power

The failure of American and Iraqi forces to provide reliable electrical services in Baghdad has been a persistent, and serious, problem for much of the post-war period, decreasing the credibility of Americans and of the new government in the eyes of many residents there. Now, the New York Times says, the insurgents are capitalizing on that failure and making the problem worse.

The Times reports that insurgent attacks have essentially isolated the city from outside power sources, forcing it to rely on outdated and overworked plants inside the city. One problem with the city's plants, the Times notes, is the failure of Americans working on reconstruction to plan ahead: they installed one plant that uses powerful engines that can only run on the kind of highly refined fuel that war-torn Iraq is not currently capable of producing.

What's particularly interesting about the Times' article is the discrepancy between the accounts of the Iraqi electricity minister, who seems deeply pessimistic about the situation, and "Western officials," who are described as "generally more optimistic." Seems to us like a parable for the war as a whole.

-- Alex Koppelman