It has been relatively quiet this morning in Baghdad, other than one mortar blast somewhere near the Green Zone. General Kimmitt offered a bilateral cease fire effective at noon with the insurgents in Fallujah. As of the time of this writing, it was unclear whether they would comply with this offer.

I revisited my friendly banker this morning. He offered words of caution. "With the kidnappings, you must be careful, my friend. . . ." Recognizing me as American, he said, "You must be careful. You are my brother."