Baghdad Life

Michael Totten has a fantastic long post on life in post-surge Baghdad. While no longer a war zone it's be no means quiet and tensions between communities still exist despite the relative peace and quiet. It's a fascinating look at the day to day activities of the US military there and provides some slightly concerning foreshadowing of life after the bulk of US forces withdraw. While withdrawal is almost certainly the right course of action in 2009, the possible relapse of violence from sectarian conflict, from militants currently paid to keep quiet and from AQI is a worrying prospect.