I would like to see Senator Jack Reed as the Vice President, and while I don't think he actually will be the VP nominee, I do think there are certain puzzle pieces that fit, and so as long as we're speculating...

He fits the night's theme:

Reed was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, to Mary Louise Monahan and Joseph Anthony Reed. Reed graduated from La Salle Academy in Providence and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. Following his graduation and receiving an active duty commission, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Masters in Public Policy. Reed, an Army Ranger and a paratrooper, served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantry Platoon leader in the 325th Infantry Regiment, a Company Commander, and a Battalion Staff Officer. He returned to West Point in 1978 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences.(Wikipedia)

Largely as a result of portions (described in some sources as "splinter groups") of the Mahdi Army engaging in illegal smuggling activities in Basra (which increased, accompanied by higher levels of violence when the UK pulled out), the US and Iraqi armies have launched what is, in essence, a militarized police action against the Shia militia.

[In sourcing this diary I'm using new first-hand reporting from the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor.]