An Iraqi civil war: In their own words

Want a sample of what innocent, hard-working families in Baghdad are going through on a daily basis.  Here are some excerpts from a message board through which Iraqis are asking for advice on how to protect their neighborhoods.  This is the definition of chaos:

To grasp how dire the situation in Baghdad has become over thelast few days, here is a sampling of posts on Iraqi message boardswhere people ask for instructions on how to defend their neighborhoodsfrom marauding militiamen:

Ali - Khadhraa district:
Please inform us about the areas that are expected to be targeted, sowe can be prepared. Also please inform us on the necessary steps weshould take to protect our families and ourselves.

Ibn Al-Iraq - Jihad district:
Salam Aleikum. I live in the Jihad district. A group from the MahdiArmy tagged Sunni residences and collected their weapons today. God iswitness to what I say.

Mustafa - Ghazaliya district:
We have been under mortar fire for two days. It is 10:50 p.m. now andwe can hear heavy gunfire and an attack against mosques in the area.May God save us all from the injustice of aggressors.

The son of Anbar - Baghdad:
Dear brothers, the Khadhraa and Jami’a districts are in need of ammunition. Please come to our aid.

Ali - Ghazaliya district:
Groups from the evil Mahdi Army are preparing to enter Ghazaliya fromthe direction of the Centre Street and near the Muhajireen mosque, butresidents are in control of most of the streets, despite assistancefrom the National Guard [for the Mahdi Army] and their cover for themortar attacks from the Security Street. A woman was injured there fromtheir damn mortars.

Anonymous - Jihad district:
Urgent. Please intervene to save the Jihad district from anothermassacre. Interior Ministry commandoes have been transporting fightersand mercenaries from the militias with their buses to theirheadquarters in the district. They are estimated to be around 500mercenaries, fully armed with medium and light weapons. And now some ofthem are taking attack positions in preparation for a new massacre inthe district. The buses have not stopped arriving, even thoughterrified residents have called the police and governmental officials.

Ahmed Al-Janabi - Baghdad:
Salam Aleikum. I’m a resident of Yarmouk and I can hear gunfire fromthe Four Streets area as if in warning of an attack of sorts. Godknows. Please come to our aid if the situation worsens.

Abdul Rahman Abdul Qadir - Karkh district:
Salam Aleikum. Over 40 vehicles with Mahdi Army militiamen havegathered near the Dora police station. They started arriving at 7 p.m.,and at 7:45 p.m. we could see about 40 vehicles preparing to attackDora.

A few months ago the violence in Iraq reached a record level.  But within the last week, things have gotten completely out of control.  The Mahdi Army, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, is gaining influence, and might ultimately be responsible for turning Iraq into a failed state.  His militia is launching attacks against innocent Sunni civilians, and there is little that that official Iraqi army of just more than 10,000 combat-ready troops can do to control it.  Meanwhile, U.S. troops are caught in the middle of all this.

So once again -- and this goes to Bush, Cheney, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Boehner -- how is this not a civil war?