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.