Iraq

Yesterday there was a story, (Reuters) "Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is ready to disband his militia if Shi'ite religious leaders demand it...." which sounds very positive and very rational, except for the fact that Sadr's done this before, and the Shiite leaders made it very clear that that level of politics is not within their purview.

So, it's really no surprise that the religious leaders refused to issue an edict calling on the Mahdi to disband. (CNN missed this headline. More than likely what they said is that they will not rule/issue judgement on the matter.)

(AP) "Meanwhile, security forces were reported to be blocking al-Sadr's supporters from traveling to Baghdad from outlying areas to attend an anti-U.S. rally scheduled for Wednesday."

The Guardian has a story on the indefinite, unrestrained agreement the US is seeking for a permanent presence in Iraq. (Very likely to be rejected in the Iraqi parliament.)