Iraqs new prime minister "announced an agreement Monday by nine political parties to dissolve their militias, integrating some of the 100,000 fighters into the army and police and pensioning off the rest to firm up government control ahead of the transfer of sovereignty." And, a U.S. led special forces freed three Italians and a Pole held hostage in Iraq and captured some of their abductors in a bloodless rescue mission Tuesday.
This is also very good news: The U.N. Security Council "gave a resounding 15-0 endorsement Tuesday to a U.S. resolution backing the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqs new government 14 months after the fall of Saddam Hussein. President Bush predicted the measure would instill democracy and be a catalyst for change in the Middle East." As far as I can tell we, and the Iraqis, got everything we wanted in this resolution. This meditation by John Zvesper on the meeting between Bush and Chirac during the Normandy celebrations merits careful reading.
"...a resounding 15-0 endorsement..."
This is a tacit acknowledgement that we are now in the drivers seat, owing to the Iraqis having taken their own destiny in hand by setting up the interim government without consulting with the UN.