Iraq--What to Think?

Simple: don't panic. This isn't 1993 and it's not the streets of Mogadishu, says the author of Black Hawk Down:

It is a mistake to conclude that those committing such acts represent a majority of the community. Just the opposite is true. Lynching is most often an effort to frighten and sway a more sensible, decent mainstream. In Marion it was the Ku Klux Klan, in Mogadishu it was Aidid loyalists, in Fallujah it is either diehard Saddamites or Islamo-fascists.

The worst answer the U.S. can make to such a message--which is precisely what we did in Mogadishu--is back down.

I'm with Jonah Goldberg:

I don't know that much about all of this but I bet you I'm right when I say this is all a big deal, but not that big. And, it may prove to be good news or bad. If Sadr's forces are smashed and arrested, that could result in a worse climate or a better one. It's just too soon to tell.

America cannot afford the path of Reagan (Lebanon) and Clinton (numerous embassies, first WTC attempt, USS Cole). Stay the course--we're gonna win this.

Update:

Rummy says U.S. troops captured several suspects in Fallujah.