Iraq-on the mend but at what cost

This morning's news that a recruiter of women suicide bombers in Iraq has been apprehended can only be good news.

It once again brings home that the situation in the country is slowly turning around

John Rentoul looks at the wider implications of the Iraq situation following the weekend's elections on his blog Independent minds

The significance of the "civilian surge" that has followed the military one over the past year ought to be world-view-changing. What if Iraq does "come good"? It is not there yet, but the hopeful signs are now so overwhelming that a major adjustment is required.

he writes and rather controversially points out that

Iraqis really do have hope now of a stable, prosperous and free future,which they didn't before, and wouldn't if the invasion hadn't happened.

The question is at what cost in lives lost and the political implications from the invasion as well as the diversion of resources from Afghanistan