Meanwhile in Baqubah…

Suicide Bomber Kills 68 in Iraq

Whole story here, along with disturbing chart of foreigners kidnapped, executed, or freed.

Prime Minister Ayad Allawi is still talking a good game, most recently coming out in favor of Saudi-led, all-Islamic force in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia is also saying that they'll be sending Iraq promised development aid, just as soon as the ink on the billion-dollar check dries.

I don't know the specifics of the Saudi proposition to lead a Muslim army in Iraq and anything that helps US troops leave sooner rather than later–and stabilizes the region–would be a good thing. But if one of the US goals was to develop a democracy in the Middle East, it seems unlikely that turning Iraq over to one of the most despotic regimes on the planet is going to get that job done.