With enemies like these

Maybe al-Maliki does have a chance.

"Insisting that he was not a political supporter of the prime minister, he said he was nevertheless so grateful for the security improvements that he and colleagues had downloaded Mr. Maliki’s face onto their mobile telephones as screensavers."

It's articles like these that make it so difficult for the lazy to know who's winning and who's losing. Then again, if even the effortful (emphasis on the bottom) aren't certain, then what chance do the rest of us have?