Another mission accomplished

Poor Maliki. Like March, he went in like a lion, ready to show al-Sadr, whose followers he claimed were "worse than al Qaeda," who the real boss was, and that would be the Iraq central government:

Premier Nouri al-Maliki said from Basra on Thursday that the government is the only authority, rebuffing to negotiate with what he described as "the gangs" responsible for killings and criminal acts in the southern Iraqi city.

"We emphasize that the state is the ruler, none else, and it is capable of facing any force anywhere," said a release issued by Maliki’s office and received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

But instead of achieving his announced goals, Maliki has been forced to negotiate a cease-fire, leaving al-Sadr and the other militias in place. Worse, the deal was put together by Iran:

Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, according to Iraqi lawmakers.

The deal could help defuse a wave of violence that had threatened recent security progress in Iraq. It also may signal the growing regional influence of Iran, a country the Bush administration accuses of providing support to terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere.

Like March, Maliki has left like a lamb -- a frightened, trembling lamb at that.

Yet, the war-bloggers are ballyhooing this as a victory for the American puppet government -- yes, the one cowering behind the increasingly deadly Green Zone. Just when you think these people can't become any more delusional, they surprise us all. This would be funny, except THEY'RE not the ones paying the price.