A demand by Iraqi officials for a speedy withdrawal could be the covwer the admin wants to begin a withdrawal. After all we said we would withdraw when the Iraqi government asked us to. This could be an orchestrated political move to allow us to withdraw next year.
This is a coordinated move. Negotiations with the Sunni fedayeen may be further along than we think, further isolating Mr. Z and the Headchoppers. I have always believed that in the end, Al Qaeda would be sold out by the local Sunnis and Ba'ath, who had no intention of allowing the Sunni lands to be dominated by foreign jihadists. The quid pro quo? Fedayeen get to join the army, with nice paychecks and a steady job. U.S. troops vacate the area to desert bases, with a mutual agreement to exterminate the jihadi.
Part of what's going on may be to bring the organized crime people into the mix, since so much of what happens is opportunistic organized crime covered in jihadist clothing (e.g.: you don't pay the local Don protection money, we blow up your gas station with a VBIED and make it look like Zarqawi did it....).
Be Seeing You,
Chris