Transition in Iraq

I have been on holiday, seeing good friends marry in San Francisco, and enjoying stellar weather in the city by the Bay. (This is an excuse for not having blogged recently.) I woke early this morning to learn that the handover in Iraq occured two days earlier than planned in order to thwart the violent intentions of the Islamist terrorists in that country. I have been filled with a sense of optimism about what remains a good possibility in Iraq- a second representative government in the Middle East (Israel being the first). This, despite the media having done their best to downplay the great importance of what has occurred. The New York Times conceded that the handover was two days early, but it's coverage was peppered with questions about, "how much control [the new] government will exercise, particularly over the 160,000 troops from the United States, Britain and other countries that will remain here, or even over Iraq's own army and police." No amount of media cyncism will kill my buzz. Congratulations to Iraq on a first small step toward a great future.