Things that haven't happened

In the first week of the war, we haven’t seen:

• Widespread civilian casualities
• Evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
• Iraqi forces rolling over and surrendering en masse
• Worldwide terrorist attacks
• The fall of Tony Blair’s government
• Coalition troops in the streets of Baghdad
• Saddam’s head on a pike

On the other hand, North Korea’s still rattling the old sabers, so some expectations haven’t been confounded.

Unrest continues in Southern Iraq; there are reports of an uprising against Saddam in Basra, however. While the quick dash for Baghdad failed, it’s not clear that this represents a serious setback. It looks like the next few days are going to be dedicated to shoring up the coalition position before we launch the attack on Baghdad proper. The troops badly need rest.

Northern Iraq, meanwhile, is a big question mark. Anyone’s guess as to what’s going on up there.