Upon returning from several years of "self-imposed" exile in Iran--which the "firebrand" cleric chose after two uprisings by his Mahdi Army militia were badly defeated--Muqtada al Sadr declared, "We are still fighters," and has threatened attacks if US forces remain in Iraq past 2011.

Prime Minister Maliki"s actions in Basra indicate that the Iraqi central government is gaining strength.

Thefocusof American involvement in Iraqshould be to clear and hold the Sunni areas of Baghdad and the Sunni triangle to the north.

Iraqi troops asserted control over the Basra neighborhoods that had been Sadrist "strongholds" and continue to make progress.

The approval by the Iraqi parliament of a strategic framework agreement represents a tremendous success for the United States and for a free Iraq.

Iran's actions may indicate what the Western world's counter-priorities have to be: destroying Hezbollah, securing Iraq, and halting the Iranian bomb program.

Violence is up in the Baghdad belts because U.S. and Iraqi forces have been aggressively attacking al Qaeda bases in those areas.

President Bush has more options in Iraq than people think.