Nouri al-Maliki Concedes The Obvious

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says that talks on a status-of-forces agreement that would give the U.S. the ranch and Iraq the specter of an American military presence without end are kaput.

Al-Maliki said the initial framework agreed upon was to have been an accord "between two completely sovereign states," but the U.S. proposals "do not take into consideration Iraq's sovereignty."

Well, it's like obvious, man, that this is a bargaining ploy on the PM's part, but at least the dirty linen is being aired. Are you paying attention, John McCain?

More here.

Meanwhile, props to Al-Maliki for apparently doing in four weeks what the feckless British could not do in four years -- driving the Mahdi Army out of Basra. This is so noted because I was initially critical of the Iraqi Army offensive.

Photograph by The Associated Press