Quoted: Forget the "benchmarks" that Baghdad's politicians are showing little inclination to meet; the best hope in recent memory for national reconciliation in Iraq came Wednesday in the form of a shootout — not your conventional sectarian or insurgent affair, but a series of penalty kicks that settled an Asian cup soccer semi-final in Iraq's favor. Iraq's upset victory over highly rated South Korea has earned it a showdown on Sunday against — boy, do the gods of soccer ever have a wicked sense of humor — Saudi Arabia. The news drew tens of thousands of Iraqis of all stripes out onto the street in a joyous celebration, which was tempered by two suicide bombings that killed more than 50 fans.

Bittersweet victory. Let's hope the greatest sport in the world, soccer, can save Iraq, b/c the Bush Administration certainly cannot. Amazing what sports commoradory can do for the morality of a nation. People apparently "risked life and limb to watch the game together with old soccer pals from opposite sects" ... All is not lost.