United Press International Analysis: Mogadishu revisited?

"The steadily deteriorating security situation in the Fallujah area, west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has become so dangerous that no American soldier or Iraqi security staff responded to the murderous attack against the ill-fated contractors. The Sunni Triangle is rapidly shaping up to become a sort of Iraqi version of the Bermuda Triangle for any foreigner who dares venture in it. They might get in, but never leave it alive.

There are a number of police stations in Fallujah and a base of more than 4,000 Marines nearby. But even while the two vehicles burned, sending plumes of thick, black smoke over the shuttered shops of the city, there were no ambulances, fire engines or security dispatched to try and rescue the victims of Wednesday's attack. This time, there were no Blackhawks to fly to the rescue. Instead, Fallujah's streets were abandoned to the jubilant, chaotic and violent crowds who rejoiced amid battered human remains.

We are now less than 90 days from the scheduled hand-over date of July 1, when the U.S. administration in Iraq is -- in principle -- due to return sovereignty of the country to an Iraqi government. With mounting attacks and insecurity in Iraq rising, a pertinent question to ask at this time would be: In what shape will the country be, and more specifically, to whom will the United States turn the country over?"