Everything falls apart

From Fox News: “Shiite group threatens boycott of Iraqi parliament” – “Followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday threatened to boycott parliament and the Cabinet if Iraq's prime minister meets President Bush next week, a lawmaker said.”

Meanwhile, David Ignatius writes that only the Arabs can save themselves:

The idea that America is going to save the Arab world from itself is seductive, but it's wrong. We have watched in Iraq an excruciating demonstration of our inability to stop the killers. We aren't tough enough for it or smart enough -- and in the end it isn't our problem. The hard work of building a new Middle East will be done by the Arabs, or it won't happen. What would be unforgivable would be to assume that, in this part of the world, the rule of law is inherently impossible.

Why would Ignatius - who earlier in the article darkly stated “the killers always seem to win in Lebanon” – believe that some culture change would resurrect the rule of law? Further, what kind of rule of law excludes the excesses of the Saudi princes but finds reach enough for this: “Saudi court sentences rape victim to 90 lashes.” It has to be said: these are not rational people.

More – “We’re proud of our suicide bombing grandma”