"Iraqis Postpone Conference as Kidnappings Rise," by Ian Fisher and Somini Sengupta, New York Times, 30 July, p. A1.

"Saudi Plan for Muslim Force in Iraq Gains in U.S." by Christopher Marquis, NYT, 30 July, p. A6.

The news that the national political conference is being postponed as a result of the rash of recent kidnappings and bombings is a very bad signóalmost on par with the Philippinesí decision to abandon ship. It can only embolden the insurgency. If 1 kidnapping gets you a coalition drop-out and 20 more nixes a crucial political milestone for the interim government, how can we expect to get a handle on this new tactic?

Now the glass-half-full interpretation says the whole conference process was being rushed anyway, that too few Iraqis knew about the preliminary political meetings that were designed to generate the 1,000 national delegates, that too many groups had opted out instinctively and needed more time to be brought into the mix, and that the UN was so worried about all these things that it was pushing hard to get the conference pushed back for these concerns to be adequately addressed.

What does the U.S. do with this extra time? Try like crazy to internationalize this occupation to reduce its West-vs-Islam flavor. The country working hardest on this goal right now is the one that owes us the mostóSaudi Arabia. Naturally, no Saudi forces will be involved, but their effort at least shows how nervous the House of Saud is at the prospect of continued deterioration in Iraq. So long as America stands firm, the fact that things get worse in Iraq may be nerve-racking, but in reality, it may point to the shortest pathway for serious solutions to emerge from those most affected by the instabilityóIraqís neighbors.