Writing after the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the completion of his government, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seems to have a good grasp of the most serious crises facing his country, and what needs to be done about them.
I appreciate his emphasis on putting the unemployed to work, fighting corruption and, most urgently, reestablishing a state monopoly on weapons by putting an end to militias.
Let’s hope he has the power and the will to confront those within his own government (members of Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement come to mind) who currently are more part of the problem than part of the solution to Iraq’s difficulties.