Iraq News 1 Mar

The Good: US casualties are down for Feburary from a small increase in January. While every death of a US service member is a tragic loss, it's helpful to look at long-term casualty trends to get a feel for the security progress or lack thereof in Iraq. Sadly, according to iCasualties, the Iraqi civilian deaths have slightly increased from Jan., but I'm going to wait on a report from the Iraqi Ministries to get the actual numbers. More details on the scheduled execution of the tyrant Chemical Ali, who must be executed within 30 days by Iraqi law.

The Bad: Chaldean Archbishop Rahho has been kidnapped by a group of thugs in Mosul after his bodyguards were killed. Christians have been the target of significant extremist violence as Sunni terrorists and Shi'ite militias alike see them as sharing the religion of the crusader.

The Ugly: The symbol of gross misappropriation of taxpayer dollars and Bush administration hubris, the US embassy, is being investigated by Rep. Waxman. Also, there are allegations that the monstrosity is more prone to catch fire than Richard Pryor freebasing coke.