ARTICLE: In a reversal, U.S. reliance on Iraqi army is fading: Training troops is no longer a priority, changing the role of American forces, By NANCY A. YOUSSEF, McClatchy Newspapers, Apr. 20, 2007

This, to me, seems more nakedly about leaving Iraq ASAP, and that worries me. A bit too close to the "cut and run" mentality long decried by the administration.

Between this and the walls going up, you get the feeling that partitioned Iraq is well under-way, which to me is realistic, but somebody better be getting the Saudis ready, cause the doorstep's gonna feel a whole lot closer once the Americans draw down.

The only good news in this (to the extent it's true, as so many reports from Iraq conflict) is that the timeline seems way to slow on the possible redirect on Iran, the precursor for which must be the Bush administration arguing a culmination of threats against Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and ... let's not forget Poland and the Czech Republic.