says UN envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura of Iraq’s disparate political, religious, and ethnic factions:

“We do not feel a real spirit of reconciliation developing even if the government has accepted the law on reintegration of former Baathists,” he said.

“The little intercommunity game continues but Iraq has no more time.”

He said Iraq had six months to make political progress.

“After that, the former insurgents may be tempted to return to violence and we must absolutely avoid that. We see a light at the end of the tunnel but we have to move quickly,” he said.

This, from the institutional voice of an organization whose failures and incompetence brought you those world-famous massacres in Kosovo and Rwanda! An organization that engineered a highly profitable little business deal with Saddam. Anyway, you’d think the UN would be happy about the first step at de-Ba’athification

The law, adopted on Saturday, is the first in a series of measures Washington has pressed the Shi’ite Islamist-led government to pass to draw the minority Sunni Arab community that held sway under Saddam closer into the political process.

which prompted de Mistura’s comments. The Ba’athists might prove to be just as understanding of the UN’s needs as Saddam was…