Amidst the ongoing violence in Iraq and the opaque maneuvering surrounding the June 30 handover - one key piece of good news has emerged. The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for National Security Affairs is Barham Salih.

Previously Salih was Co-Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government. Iraqi Kurdistan is, outside of Israel and Turkey, the most democratic entity in the Middle East. A great deal of the credit goes to Barham Salih. Grateful for the last decade of US protection for Iraq's Kurds, he has been a pro-American voice and has worked hard to modernize northern Iraq. At the same time, he has been careful not to antagonize Turkey with talk of a Greater Kurdistan. Better than my summary - read his own words in this interview with the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin or in an April oped in The Washington Post celebrating the first year of Iraqi freedom. I can't find the link but in the run-up to the Iraq war he wrote an oped in The New York Times that included an off-hand, favorable remark about Israel. I write from memory - "Why should justice for Iraq wait for justice for the Palestinians or for the Israelis for that matter."

It is possible that his post will be an empty one. But, as a talented and courageous politician (Ansar al-Islam has tried to kill him) with good relations with both the US and Britain (he was educated in the UK) Barham could play a crucial role as the key liaison between the new Iraqi government and the ongoing coalition military presence. Having such an able figure who is deeply devoted to a united, democratic Iraq in such a sensitive role is fortunate and we may find ourselves very grateful in coming months.

The Jerusalem Post reports that in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz Palestinian National Security Advisor Jibril Rajoub called former Palestinian National Security Advisor Mohammed Dahlan a collaborator. Others have even called Dahlan the Palestinian Chalabi because he is reportedly negotiating with the U.S. and Israel about taking control of Gaza after Israel pulls out. This story gets a little tangled.

Dahlan and Rajoub both spent time in Israeli prisons during the first Intifada. Under Oslo they became heads of the Preventive Security Services in Gaza and the West Bank respectively. They were both viewed as pragmatists and representatives of the next generation of Palestinians who could live with Israel. Both Israel and the U.S. groomed them as successors to Arafat.

Unfortunately they were both creeps. The Preventive Security Service was a plainclothes service - so it was impossible for Israel to easily keep track of its size. It grew rapidly, allowing the Palestinian Authority to evade Oslo's restrictions on the size of the Palestinian security forces. Both Dahlan and Rajoub were implicated in a variety%A0of financial scandals and linked to human rights violations. Rajoub was actually wanted by the Jerusalem police for extortion. Dahlan protected his old chum, top Hamas bombmaker Mohammed Dief (who is still at large.)

Oh, and the Preventive Security Force received special CIA training. In fairness, during a brief period in the late 1990s when the PA did crack down on terrorist groups, the Preventive Security Force did much of the heavy lifting. But while they would briefly arrest terrorists, there was no effort to break down the terrorist infrastructure. The occasional crackdown became collaboration with terrorists when the Intifada broke out. During Operation Defensive Shield in March 2002, Israel surrounded Rajoub's headquarters because dozens of wanted terrorists had taken refuge there.

The present spat reflects continued jockeying for control between Rajoub and Dahlan. If Israel withdraws from Gaza, Dahlan becomes boss and won't answer to Rajoub or Arafat. Meanwhile Arafat has feuded with Rajoub, apparently Rajoub was measuring the drapes in the Mukata. Dahlan has played his cards better and is still an Israeli/US favorite to keep Gaza quiet.

The irony in calling Dahlan the Palestinian Chalabi is that while the CIA has courted and supported both Dahlan and Rajoub - it would never touch Chalabi. Chalabi has long been under a cloud (full disclosure here: I've met him and think he is the real deal - he really wants a democratic Iraq allied to the U.S.) but compared to Dahlan and Rajoub he is an angel. Maybe he just wasn't corrupt enough for the CIA.