Surprise visit

It seems a good many Iraqis are not real keen on the "surprise" visit there by Rice and Rummy today:

Some Iraqis doubt whether the government will be formed without U.S. pressure. "The Americans are in a hurry to form the government and they know it will not be formed if left to Iraqis," said Izzat Shabander, a politician from former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's slate. "Rice came to be a basic partner in forming the government," especially as it relates to key security and intelligence positions, he said.

But others thought the visit could backfire. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, said the visits were "useless, unimportant."

"I guess they are worried about the circumstances in Baghdad and what will follow," he said. "It would be more appropriate if they would leave us alone ... let us solve our problems by ourselves."

And, while we're on the subject, what do you suppose the fact that all these visits have to be surprises says about the security situation in Baghdad?