How's that progress going?

AP/Hadi Mizban
Someone in the new unity government apparently didn't get the WH talking points. Today, the Iraqi government imposed a curfew on pedestrian and vehicular traffic in Baghdad. This is after declaring a "state of emergency" yesterday.

BAGHDAD, June 23 -- Adding a new layer of confusion to the security crackdown gripping Baghdad, the Iraqi government today imposed a last-minute ban on pedestrian as well as vehicular traffic throughout the city.

The 2 p.m. curfew was announced late in the morning, after many people were already traveling to work or to mosques for weekly Friday prayers. Originally, it was supposed to last all night. But hours later, a bulletin on Iraqi television announced the curfew would end at 5 p.m. (9 a.m. in Washington).

Under a security crackdown launched last week, vehicle traffic already was banned in the capital from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, the Muslim Sabbath, when midday mosque attendance -- and the potential for violence -- is especially high.

The government gave no explanation for the additional restrictive measures, but they followed violent clashes reported in several Baghdad neighborhoods this morning. Three insurgents were killed and six wounded in fighting near the Haifa Street neighborhood, according to Ahmed Al-Nuaimi, an interior ministry official.

That doesn't sound like "last throes" to me. I'm glad the new government is trying to get a handle on the deteriorating state of affairs there. I wonder, how long until they publicly say what anyone with sense knows, that our presence is fueling the insurrgency?

And how long until they politely ask us to get the hell out? What will the Cheney administration do then?

With his world view, I'd be surprised if they didn't just say, "sorry, but it's not in American interests for us to withdraw at this time." Hey, you didn't think they were building those permanent bases just to turn them over to the Iraqis, did you?