Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced today that his government will take immediate action against sectarian militias of all stripes in Baghdad. His announcement comes as the Bush administration appears ready to shift more troops to the capital, at least temporarily, and as confidence ebbs that Maliki would ever address the largest problem in Iraqi politics:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday that Iraq's armed forces are set for an assault on Baghdad to take out militias and rogue security forces.

Aided by multinational troops, the Iraqi forces "will hunt down all outlaws regardless of their sectarian and political affiliations," al-Maliki said at an Iraqi Army Day parade.

"We will also severely punish those [security forces] who do not carry out orders or operate in a partisan or sectarian way," he said.

Forces will search out insurgents neighborhood-by-neighborhood, The Associated Press reported, and will start the assault this weekend. The announcement came two days after al-Maliki and President Bush spoke by video conference for two hours.

Anyone want to guess the substance of the conversation between Bush and Maliki? It probably was what a former boss of mine used to call "come to Jesus" meetings -- meaning that the purpose of the meeting was to convey an unvarnished and unpleasant reality, usually as a final warning before more drastic steps needed to be taken.

The unvarnished reality is that even if the US "surges" troops in the next few weeks, it will only last for a short period. Bush does not have the political support for an extended escalation, even from his own party. It isn't even clear what an extended escalation would do, especially the low-level one proposed in recent weeks, although a temporary boost with a specific mission might actually accomplish something. Bush needs Maliki to stop protecting Sadr's Mahdi Army and to take the steps necessary to break it and the rest of the militias, because without the participation of the Iraqis, the US cannot hope to clear and hold the necessary territory in Baghdad.

Whatever Bush said, it seems to have motivated Maliki. He now has the right idea, as long as he's willing to meet the rhetoric with the appropriate action. That means that he has to marginalize Moqtada al-Sadr politically, a dangerous prospect for a prime minister who leveraged Sadr's political heft to rise to the top. If he expects to stay there, he needs to end the sectarian militia war in his own capital -- and I suspect that's exactly what Bush took two hours to say this morning.

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» Finally Maliki gets the message from Scribal Terror
You can't have a sovereign government without the practical application of force to maintain sovereignty:Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday that Iraq's armed forces are set for an assault on Baghdad to take out militias and rogue secu... [Read More]

Tracked on January 6, 2007 11:34 AM

» Finally Maliki gets the message from Scribal Terror
You can't have a sovereign government without the practical application of force to maintain sovereignty:Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Saturday that Iraq's armed forces are set for an assault on Baghdad to take out militias and rogue secu... [Read More]

Tracked on January 6, 2007 11:36 AM

» Maliki: Attack All Militias from Bill's Bites
Maliki: Attack All MilitiasEd Morrissey Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced today that his government will take immediate action against sectarian militias of all stripes in Baghdad. His announcement comes as the Bush administration appears ... [Read More]

Tracked on January 6, 2007 12:08 PM

» Maliki: Attack All Militias from Don Singleton
I wonder how long it will take before al Sadr seeks an exception for hia Mahdi army, the one reallu causing much of the problem. If he does exempt them, Bush should pull out immediately [Read More]

Tracked on January 6, 2007 7:24 PM