What's going on ?

I'd say that the Bush administration is finally more desperate than stubborn.

Yesterday, President Bush more or less said that he on June 30 he will transfer Iraqi sovereignty to whomever is chosen by Lakhdar Brahimi.

"Q ... Mr. President, who will you be handing the Iraqi government over to on June 30th?

THE PRESIDENT: We will find that out soon. That's what Mr. Brahimi is doing; he's figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over."

Today, Brahimi said that he thinks that the IGC should be replaced by "a prime minister, a president and two vice presidents." To be "chosen by the United Nations, the current Governing Council, the coalition and a select group of Iraqi judges, according to the U.N. spokesman's office in New York."

Might not be what the President had in mind, but "L. Paul Bremer, the chief U.S. administrator in Iraq, welcomed Brahimi's recommendations."

I sure hope it works out.

So my guess as to who is chosen by (list above which really means Brahimi, Sistani, and the Bush administration ): Abdul Aziz Al Hakim gets president of prime minister (whichever he prefers), Adnan Pachachi gets to be prime minister or president for being a Sunni moslem. Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talebani have to decide which is a vice president, one hopes without bloodshed. a Fourth Shi'ite completes the team ( Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum or Ibrahim al-Jaafari).

Pachachi might have blown it by appearing on al Arabiya (or was it Al Jazeera reports vary).

The whole thing might go up in smoke if Bush decides that to accept such a major change proposed by a UN employed Arab would be irresolute.