Incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that President Bush order an immediate buildup of 10,000 troops in Iraq, with an option of doubling that to 20,000 by spring. The plan is known as "Five Plus Two," sending five Army brigades into Baghdad plus two Marine battalions into western Iraq. Two of the Army brigades would go into Baghdad starting in January, with the other three on call. The plan comes with a high-level personnel shake-up in the Global War on Terrorism apparatus. Gen. David Petraeus has been named to replace Gen. George Casey as top US commander in Iraq, with Adm. William Fallon, now head of the Pacific Command, to replace Gen. John Abizaid as chief of Central Command. Outgoing Abizaid and Casey have both expressed qualms in recent weeks about boosting US forces in Iraq, with Abizaid warning that an increase of 20,000 could not be sustained for long by the overburdened US military. (CBS, Jan. 6)

Sadam Hussein was hanged in the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 30 for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of 148 men and boys from the Shi'ite town of Dujail in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him there. Also hanged were Awad Haman Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, and Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim. Four other co-defendants received prison terms ranging from 15 years to life. While President Bush called the execution a milestone on Iraq's road to democracy, Human Rights Watch denounced it, calling Saddam's trial "deeply flawed."

From The Telegraph, Dec. 14, emphasis added:

Saudi Arabia would respond to an American withdrawal from Iraq by funding and arming Sunni insurgents to prevent them being massacred by Shia militias, the kingdom has told the White House.

From the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Dec. 7:

Darkest Scenario for Women of Iraq:
Public executions of women by Islamist militias in Baghdad

Shia Militias: A new wave of public executions against women is undertaken by Al Mahdi army. Dragging, flogging, hanging and shootings fall within the routine procedure of these executions which are taking place in growing numbers.

One question that needs to be asked, is how much of the Iraqi bloodbath is due to the "Salvador option" strategem that Newsweek claimed Negroponte wanted to employ to quell the Sunni insurgency, using Shia militias. From AP, Dec. 1:

Spy Chief Cites Perils in Iraq
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte says Iraq is far more precarious than much of Vietnam was when he served as a U.S. diplomat there in the 1960s.

From Middle East Newsline, Nov. 13:

The U.S. military plans to expand robot operations in Iraq.

If this turns out to be true, we wager the beneficiary will be Iyad Allawi. From UPI, Oct. 23:

CAIRO -- Iraqi army officers are reportedly planning to stage a military coup with U.S. help to oust the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Even Bush appears to be facing the grim music from Iraq. Asked in an ABC News interview Oct. 18 whether he agreed with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's opinion that the violence in Iraq was "the jihadist equivalent of the Tet offensive," Bush responded: "He could be right. There's certainly a stepped-up level of violence, and we're heading into an election." Attacks in Iraq killed about 40 people on Oct 19. The death toll for US troops rose to 72 for October, which could become one of their deadliest months in two years. (Stuff.com, Oct. 20) Iraq’s interior minister, Jawad al Bolani, has pledged to purge his offices of sectarian influence, but this has failed to stem the escalating violence. (NYT, Oct. 14) Recent proposals by Washington to partition Iraq may be merely accepting a fait accompli. The south already appears to be a Shi'ite sectarian zone in Iran's orbit, and the north is de facto an independent Kurdish state. All that remains is for a Taliban-style Sunni theocracy to be declared in the center. This Oct. 16 report from Britain's The Herald indicates this may have already come to pass: