Meanwhile, Over There...

Iraq's new Parliament convenes (finally) after March's elections, but if anything the situation in Baghdad is even more unstable.

The inaugural parliamentary session more than three months after the March 7 vote was a major step toward the establishment of a government but it appeared likely it would still take weeks for political factions to agree on a choice of prime minister.

Sunni Islamist insurgents have sought to exploit the sectarian tensions generated by the extended political vacuum through bombings and assassinations.

Recent weeks have also seen a spate of raids on banks and gold markets blamed by the authorities on insurgents seeking funds. But Shi'ite militia groups that took up arms after the invasion have also turned to crime as sectarian warfare fades.

The number of civilians killed each month since March has increased slowly but steadily, raising questions about whether the U.S. government can stick to its plan to end combat operations in August ahead of a full withdrawal in 2011.

Suicide bombers and gunmen on Sunday stormed the heavily-guarded central bank in Baghdad, killing 15 people and wounding dozens. They did not gain access to the vaults where piles of Iraqi dinars and U.S. dollars are stored, but fought an hour-and-a-half-long gunbattle with Iraqi security forces.

With no strong Prime Minister that's acceptable to the people as leader and the US needing to leave on time or risk destabilizing everything, I don't envy anyone trying to wrangle this country back into shape.  The reality is however that we're not going to be able to leave, and that most likely we never will.

We're trapped for a long, long time.