Bad to worse

Here is a distressing dispatch regarding Baghdad. (via Andrew Sullivan) It's articles like these that make me want to read Peter Galbraith's The End of Iraq. Galbraith calls for a de facto break up of Iraq into three states. Seems farfetched but it couldn't be that much worse than what is going on now.

If you prefer your gritty reality in fictional form, you may want to get your hands on Dan Fesperman's new book called the Prisoner of Guantanamo. I read Fesperman's Lie in the Dark, which was set in artillery bracketed Sarajevo. He did a great job at creating a claustrophobic atmosphere and a cast of shady and corrupt figures. So Guantanamo is a good choice for him.