One more thing about Hakim today. He made a point of emphasizing that his meeting with Bush was long-planned, while Maliki's sit-down in Jordan was impromptu -- i.e., that Maliki was called onto the carpet in Jordan by the Americans, while Hakim meets on his own time, to deliver his own message.

To put it another way, Hakim was saying he's Avon Barksdale: he understands both the game and his place in it, and when he makes a move, he makes a move when and only when he's ready. To stretch the analogy a bit, Maliki here is Stringer. Maliki thinks there's a game beyond the game, under his control, but he's caught up in forces beyond his control and doesn't see his own end coming. And this makes Moqtada Sadr the Marlo Stanfield of this tragedy -- the rising power, who both the old heads and the law prove unable to control, and who possesses a remarkable amount of staying power by ruthlessly playing by his own rules.

Avon, of course, is marginalized, and when he goes back inside, he recognizes that his time has come to an end, and nods to Marlo, passing the baton. It's doubtful that Hakim will go as gracefully here, but go he will.