If you're not familiar with Iraq history, you might want to check this out. Some things never change.

The Birth of Iraq: 1916-1921

One of the first and largest rebel groups in Iraq is called the 1920 Revolution Brigades. If you know what the "1920" refers to then you are already in a very select minority of Americans. If you know the reasons for the 1920 Revolution, how long it lasted, and how it ended then you are in an extremely tiny minority that doesn't need to read this diary any further.

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Interview With a Combat Vet

In the aftermath of September 11, New York native Paul Rieckhoff volunteered to carry the fight to Al Qaeda. In 2003 he found himself instead sitting on a chartered military transport as the commander of 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, destined for Iraq; which is where the book, and this interview, begin. DarkSyde (DS): The first chapter of Chasing Ghosts is called "George Bush Had Better Be Fucking Right." Was he? Lieutenant Paul Rieckhoff (Lt. PR): No. Not even close. I wrote that line in my journal sitting on the plane on the way to Iraq. In 2003, President Bush bet the house on the mother of all poker games. And in the end, he didn't have the cards to back it up. He was wrong on just about every single issue having to do with the war in Iraq from the existence of WMD, to the proper number of troops, to the strength and scope of the insurgency. And America will be paying for it for decades.

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I have his book on hold at the library. I will report back.

Shiite vs. Shiite
As the two main factions of Iraq's dominant religious group descend into armed conflict, the U.S. military has already been forced to pick sides.

Among the best-selling jewelry items in Iraq today is a pendant consisting of a whole map of the country. It's the symbol of a national unity many Iraqis see slipping away, because now even the majority Shiites are fighting among themselves. The ongoing ethnic cleansing and piecemeal partition of Iraq most often takes place along ethnic and sectarian lines. Kurds fight Arabs, Sunnis fight Shiites, and so on. The recent battles in Diwaniyah, Karbala and Basra, however, raise the specter of Shiite-on-Shiite violence, and on a level that may pull in coalition troops and further imperil the U.S. mission in Iraq.

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