Meanwhile, in reality

While Commander Happy Pants was pretending that all was well yesterday (and every day before) this little snippet on the pending retirement of Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez contained this nugget:

General Sanchez's awkward position was laid bare this week when he led a farewell ceremony for nearly 700 V Corps soldiers who will take over the military headquarters staff here from the XVIII Airborne Corps on Jan. 19. "A daunting task lies ahead; I have no doubt you are well trained," General Sanchez, dressed in his helmet and body armor, told soldiers at a ceremony in Heidelberg on Tuesday, Stars and Stripes reported. "The country's on the verge of a civil war."

I think the only really debatable thing is whether "verge" is accurate or not.