The point of Dubya's surge, as readers will recall, was to stabilize the security situation on the streets, and to give time for a unified, effective Iraqi government to emerge, and for the economy to get back in gear, to eliminate the hopeless idleness that is fueling much of the trouble. Attacks on civilians continue apace, but security was only a means to these larger ends. So, how are things going?

We have a success! The main Sunni coalition is quitting the governing coalition, leaving it entirely in the hands of Shiite parties, and therefore more unified! And the Saudis, who see the Shiites as catspaws of Iran, promise to keep aiding Sunni insurgents, which will provide native Iraqi Sunnis with, if not jobs, then at least something to do, keeping them from idleness.

Now, these may both be seen as bad developments if you adopt a narrow focus on the security situation. But with all this good news, why fuss about security?