New Prime Minister Designated In Iraq

Quickly on the heals of the resignation of former Prime Minister al Jaafari, the political parties in Parliament have agreed on Jawad al-Maliki as new Prime Minister. He now has 30 days to assemble a cabinet that can be approved by Parliament, under the new Iraqi Constitution.

Iraq is not out of the woods yet to be sure. The cabinet must be formed and approved and then it must begin to make a functioning government a reality in the lives of most Iraqis. This event is best viewed as a giant leap of a first step on the road to civic order in that tortured nation.