Iraqi Army Pushes Deeper Into Sadr

Opposition, if you want to call it that, resulted in the deaths of ten Mahdi Army fighters when "operations against special groups in eastern Baghdad" were reported today. Iraqi troops seize 59 explosively formed projectiles in Sadr City since May 24 as Iraqis, on their own, pushed into Sadr City, with background support of U.S. troops. An early estimate is that the U.S. can withdraw in 2009. Now, that's an intriguing ideas worth exploring but in the volative Iraqi situation, I would make no predictions. I would wait until Christmas and announce it as a gift.