Rope-A-Dope?

One hopes this is a White House election ploy.

UN team arrives in Iraq as Annan readies announcement on future role

In Washington, the White House said Friday President George W. Bush met a day earlier with a top UN official, lending extra weight to appeals for the UN to make a speedy return to Iraq.

Bush had a brief meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi, a widely respected diplomat newly appointed as Annan's special adviser, spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

"They have an important role to play. They have a lot of special expertise that they can offer. And so we are hopeful that they can return to Iraq as soon as possible," said McClellan.

I will believe this is anything more when the UN redeploys full-blown mission to Baghdad.