maps of Baghdad's sectarian violence

Really good tool to understand what's going on; very similar to a map you could make of German cities in 1929-1933.

From the Petraeus/Cocker pony show this week on the Hill. Shows "ethno-sectarian violence" in neighborhoods - but also the ethnic composition of neighborhoods. And so as Matthew Yglesias writes, this actually means that violence is going down because the neighborhoods are becoming less mixed. Put that together with the fact that violence dropped *before* the surge and you have your explanation - not American troops, but the success of ethnic intimidation in getting people to re-locate into clan neighborhoods.