This was a feelgood summit. Both President Bush and Tony Blair struck an upbeat note, basking in long awaited unity on Iraq. Even here the cracks are already beginning to show with France rejecting suggestions of an expanded role for NATO in Iraq. But both President Bush and Mr. Blair were determined to play that down, their focus instead on a much-trumpeted agreement on political reform in the Middle East, the spread of what President Bush called "the universal values of human dignity."

All the while African leaders were vying for attention from the sidelines. They didn't come away empty-handed; there were modest gains on debt relief and the promise of tens of thousands more peacekeepers. But for the second year running the main focus was Iraq. The rest of the world took second place.