BGG, first I want to thank you for your faithful daily blog. I look forward to reading it each day. You and your team find articles to comment on that I often do not see anywhere else, and they are always an interesting read. Thanks also for keeping us encouraged as we continue on this journey toward the RV. And may God bless you and nourish you spiritually in your fast.

Sir, in your blog today in the headlines section, you said it is "great news" that Maliki is putting forth three candidates for the Ministry of Defense position. Why is this great news? It has been my understanding that Maliki has been trying to fill the Defense position with candidates of his own choosing (likely so he can control the man who gets it) for at least a year, but the agreement was that Allawi and the Iraqiya Slate was supposed to pick that one. Maliki was only allowed to choose the Ministry of Interior position. Isn't this just another indication that Maliki is thumbing his nose at Erbil and trying to stay in control of everything? It looked to me like he was up to his old tricks, hoping nobody would notice this time. What are your thoughts, sir?