THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

But it sure doesn't look like the one planned by that unmatched military genius, Our Dear Embattled Leader. According to McClatchy, large segments of Baghdad are being taken over by, surprise, the Mahdi Army!

In the past 10 days, the fiery Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia has resurfaced in force, making a push to roust Sunnis from Baghdad and to isolate Sunni enclaves in the west of the capital from their brethren in the south.

Mahdi Army militiamen in the Shiite dominated neighborhood of Bayaa were reinforced by other Shiite fighters and men in civilian clothes with weapons have cordoned off the area. In the past 10 days Mahdi Army activity has escalated, intensifying in the past two days with the capture of two Sunni mosques, residents and police said.

The push appears to be part of a strategy by the Mahdi Army to control swaths of the once Sunni-dominated west bank of the Tigris River. Late last year, the militia, which has long regarded itself as a protector of the Shiites, drove Sunnis out of Hurriyah, killing some and burning homes.

On Friday, the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida dominated insurgent group, issued a statement on the internet calling on the Sunnis to fight against Shiite militia. The commentary appeared designed to shore up support for the extremist group that many Iraqi Sunnis have turned on.

"Now there is a supreme conspiracy to push Sunnis out of Baghdad," the statement said. "What you have to today is to depend on God and attack the rawafudh (Shiites), and the checkpoints of the pagan guards. The fall of one his almighty houses is a great tragedy."

The new escalation coincides with the withdrawal of Kurdish soldiers, who were stationed in the Amil and Bayaa area as part of the Baghdad Security Plan. The Kurdish pullback began Wednesday as their scheduled three-month deployment ended, according to Iraqi and U.S. military officials.

Sure sounds like the Iraqis are getting cranked up for a genuine, no holds barred civil war. And The Big Fool says we have got to keep US troops in the middle, catching it from both sides. Just as soon as his Surge starts everything will be OK. Once again pigs will fly before the Big Fool gets anything right.