John Burns: “Gadhafi shared one characteristic in common with Adolph Hitler, who died in his own bunker by his own hand, which is…”

the vast majority of Iraqis and certainly the vast majority of Baghdadis... will welcome this American troop increase because it's about the only thing that may, in the short to medium term, bring a greater degree of stability.

The Americans see in this an opportunity to try and draw those Baathist insurgent groups into the political process.

the Maliki government -- and in a sense, who can blame them -- has been preparing for some time for an eventual American military withdrawal and an all- out civil war.

They wanted the politicians -- the Iraqi politicians not to squander this opportunity, a peaceful election, an election in which all communities participated.