In a dramatic turnaround of policy, the New York Times describes how the Bush administration intends to use the UN to assist in setting up a provisional Iraqi government. Conservative pundits have previously scorned the rush to Iraqi self-government as the limp-wristed desires of the "secular French" or the "ineffectual UN." This change comes in the the face of increasing political pressure at home from both the left and the right that Iraq is distracting the US from more pressing goals in the war on terror. The Times suggests that bringing Iraq to the point where it can govern itself will not be easy, with ideological clashes between Sunni and Shite muslims, and the powerful Ayatollah Sistani refusing to negotiate with any American representative. With anti-war activists, prior to the war, calling for increased UN involvement, and member states opposed to the war now demanding it, the pressure on Kofi Annan to bring Iraq to a workable government will be immense. Let's just hope he can figure out a way for Iraqis to resolve internal disputes without resorting to the forceful government of a Ba'athist-style regime.