Light at the end of the tunnel?

The removal of the United Iraq Alliance's anti-occupation plank from its platform just before the election looked as if it would mean that American military could be in Iraq indefinetly. That may not be the case, though. Falah al-Naqib, the Iraqi interior minister and member of Prime Minister Illayd Allawi's party, has told British television that he expects US troops to be out in 18 months. Of course this is more of prediction than an actual time table for withdrawl, but it the Interior Minister's statement is important since it sets up a yardstick. Whether or not the target can be reached really depends on how quickly Iraqi forces can be trained and so far the news on that front is not very encouraging.