Eyes on Basra or Detroit?

As usual, I checked the BBC first thing yesterday morning. Their top story was about Basra and how Moqtada Sadr and his Mehdi Army (which largely controls Iraq's Shia south) were backing away from their much-touted truce. War was erupting in the streets of Basra.

That was the BBC. Then I clicked on CNN. Story number one: Another political sex scandal, this time in Detroit. (Later I saw CNN's Headline News--it took them six or seven minutes to get to the Basra story.)

At this hour, US coverage of this latest Iraq debacle seems to be beating out mayoral sex. Sadr is pushing for civil disobedience throughout the country, and fighting by his militiamen has now spread to parts of Baghdad and other Shia areas.

Let's just hope that today does not bring another political sex brouhaha that will take attention from this new escalation in Iraq and the fact that yesterday the number of US troops killed there reached 4,001.