Iraq United...

As the Tall Ships Race visit was drawing toward a close, Stockholm erupted into another wild celebration as the united Iraqi football (soccer) team won the final round in the Asian Cup Finals.

In a tense game held in Jakarta, Iraq had defeated the Saudi Arabian team 1-0.

Stockholm's expatriot Iraqi population threw an enormous celebration, mobbing the central squares and driving laps around the city streets honking horns and waving big Iraqi flags.

It was a genuinely thrilling atmosphere that overtook the streets, a tremendous celebration that stood in such stark contrast to events in their shattered homeland.

The sight of hundreds of extatic Iraqis celebrating the victory of their divided nation's unified team was an encouraging sight. It was wonderfully reminiscent of the celebrations in both East and West Germany when the united German football team won the World Cup on the eve of reunification in 1990. Let us hope that a major football victory will once again bring peace and unity.