Ignatius Affirms SWNID Analysis: Iraq in Crisis Moves Forward with Leadership

David Ignatius, un-looney liberal columnist for the Washington Post, today notes that things are looking up in Iraq. Specifically, he cites the efforts to form a national unity government that have moved forward under the midwifery of American Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. To quote Ignatius:

[Khalilzad] said of this week's gatherings: "These are the best meetings of Iraqis I've seen since I've been here."

The U.S. ambassador's upbeat account is believable because it is echoed by Iraqi political leaders. Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq's vice president and a representative of Hakim and his powerful Shiite party known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, told me Wednesday: "We have a common understanding on major issues -- on the need for consensus and on a national security commission. What makes me confident is that I think we are building up a sense of understanding among different communities." He said the message of the new government must be: "No one is outside of the law, whether the Badr Organization [the Supreme Council's militia], the Mahdi Army or the insurgency."

With characteristic humility we point out, to borrow a phrase, we told you so.