The reality on the ground

The Associated Press profiled a city of 30,000, now home to perhaps 3,000, in Iraq. Folks have tried to kill the mayor twice ... since May. The story offers some vivid examples of what can go wrong and what is going wrong. Ironically, the town's balanced religious mix made it a target for both sides. Saba'a al-Bour seems to be the Sarajevo of Iraq:

While sectarian fighting has been far bloodier elsewhere - nearly 100 people were slain in massacres and revenge attacks earlier this month in Balad, just to the north - U.S. commanders say Saba'a al-Bour made an especially inviting target because the tightly packed town is hemmed in by canals that make it hard for soldiers to pursue insurgents.

Thompson said he also believes the town's relatively harmonious sectarian mix attracted special attention from Sunni Arab insurgents, including those affiliated with al-Qaida in Iraq who have sought to spark all-out civil war between Sunnis and Shiites.

Fighting quickly created a "tit-for-tat scenario," with Shiites striking back at Sunnis for attacks on the town, Thompson said, sitting in the joint U.S.-Iraqi coordination center at the fortified police station.

The mayor offers a warm-and-fuzzy answer to the War on Terror: "God willing, the families will come back, the city will be like it was and the terrorism will end," he said. "We hope, we just hope."

Just how many terrorists where there before the invasion? The story doesn't address that point ...