Nouri al-Maliki

Pro: No doubt, Iraq is safer that it was two years ago. The militia movement of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been substantially weakened. He appointed Sunnis to cabinet positions, increasing goodwill.

Con: A recent wave of deadly violence — three straight days of rush hour bomb blasts in Baghdad, two sisters from a Christian family slain in the northern city of Mosul — shows how fragile the situation is. And if U.S. forces withdraw under an Obama administration, is al-Maliki strong enough to broker peace on his own?

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