Bush's visit and the NATO summit are taking place under heavy security, after a devastating bomb blast killed four people and wounded a dozen others on Thursday.

CNN: Bush, NATO focus on Iraq

Persuading the rival religious and ethnic groups to compromise, and keeping the handover plan on course, would be easier if the UN returned to Iraq to oversee the political transition (they were withdrawn last October after two bomb attacks on the UN headquarters in Baghdad caused heavy casualties).

ECONOMIST: The troublesome, vote-loving ayatollah | The