Many of you may be wondering about the view on the ground here in Baghdad. The cafes closed early and one of the major thoroughfares was blocked off. A gentleman sitting in the cafe commented to me that "it was quiet—too quiet." Indeed, with the turmoil all round the city, including in nearby Sadr city, Baghdad has remained relatively calm. But this evening, the feeling was one of bracing for what is to come, much like those sitting in the relative quiet of the eye of a storm.
Are there reports from Ramadi? The coverage here is so weak. It almost reads as if the "wheels have come off the bus". Even the politicians quoted in articles on fox news make it sound very, very grim.