It's a step in the right direction, and I'm sure we tightened the thumbscrews to get him to do even this much. But tomorrow is another day. He made his gesture to us today; who knows what tomorrow will bring?
He'd better stick with it, he had a very unpleasent experience today in Sadar City when they threw rocks at his convoy.
Maliki could easily back down. He doesn't exactly have a spine of steel.