The White House is drawing attention to this election, betting that it will be successful and it can point to this as another benchmark in the transition to fuller Iraqi sovereignty.

It kind of puts a different spin on it, which hopefully will gather people's attention.

For many months the US was standoffish from this reform process, which is odd, since reform of the United Nations is a US priority. What the US is finding once again is that as maddening as it can be, the UN is a necessary forum for us - and it will work better if we work to get certain changes done.

The U.S. strategy is to water down the document rather than to strengthen it.

A week's delay is no problem, but if this falls apart, it's a problem. This is the essence of the exit strategy. Without this, it will be hard for the U.S. to point to Iraq as a success.

We appreciate the premier's attention.