Bringing up the important issues that are not apparent on the surface - that is what good journalism means to me. It is all very well for John McCain to say American troops will remain in Iraq but Robert Dujarric asks what kind of a victory is America seeking in Iraq and is it really worth it?

There are a few junctures that will determine the future of Iraq. The stalled oil law was one and, this subject, the status of US forces in Iraq is another. This story demonstrates two important points: the "Status of Forces Agreement" will receive a rough ride through the Iraqi parliament and the Sadrist movement is far from beaten. This article adds more context to the reasons for the recent bitter battles against elements of the Sadrist movement.

An excellent piece - informative and balanced. The one thing lacking is to study the morality of cyber-warfare. Cyber-warfare is something that will be developed by all countries but there should be calls for limiting its planned use against civilian infrastructure.

A good description of the swings in the US presidential race regarding policy towards Iraq from the two main candidates. I especially like this because it is written in a way that is informative and understandable to people outside of America.

Maybe I am being too harsh - but this is a rather poor piece of writing that UPi is hawking as 'analysis'. The article recycles known news and then makes unsubstantiated assessments of Sistani's motivations leaving the reader none the wiser about what is going on. It also jumps to the US presidential race without really trying to make a connection to the bulk of the article. This does not do UPI any credit.

A well researched piece that covers the topic from a broad range of angles. But it suffers from being too timid in its recommendations and will be destined to be another in a long line of articles from this esteemed publication that skirts around the issues but but never makes any real difference.

Something missing from the bulk of the media. Hearing the stories of real Iraqis from their own mouths. The stories are real and heart-breaking.

Nice piece - shows however much the Iraq was may disappear from the headlines it has a way of forcing itself on the public. But, there is a tendency to blame the public for the lack of interest without looking into the way the media reports Iraq as being a cause.

Ladybird picks up on a web conversation between people who defend and criticize the Sadrist trend in Iraq. This gives a very important insight into the opinions of Iraqis about the Sadrists and how the Sadrists view themselves.

Helen picked on a very important subject - the sanitization of war to the American public.

I would recommend this story solely because it gives a good impression of US military thinking. I would call it strategy by PowerPoint. Reading this, one can almost visualise the slides with their little groups of bullet-pointed facts. But the article is shallow - it looks at the symptoms with no real attempt to scratch surface of understanding the political issues. And when the symptoms change - the whole basis of this article becomes pointless.