The President spoke with  Scott Pelley, of 60 Minutes, at Camp David.  Here is the link to the transcript and here is the video link.  Much was brought up, obviously, but this particular portion is what I was struck by:

PELLEY: Is Muqtada al-Sadr an enemy of the United States?

BUSH: Anybody who murders innocent people or frustrating the ambitions of the Iraqi people and the United States.

PELLEY: I was on the battlefield in Najaf when al-Sadr’s people killed your United States Marines.

BUSH: Right. And we killed them, as you recall.

PELLEY: Is Muqtada al-Sadr an enemy of the United States?

BUSH: If he is ordering his people to kill Americans, he is.

PELLEY: Without al-Sadr, there’s no Maliki government.

BUSH: Well, Mr. Maliki has said publicly that militia, including Jaysh al-Mahdi, will either put down their arms or will be dealt with by Iraqi and US forces. And we’re gonna hold them to it.

PELLEY: You don’t fear that al-Sadr’s actually running the show?

BUSH: He may wanna be but, no, I don’t think he is.

al-Sadr is a major problem and this should have been acknowledged! 
ALLAHPUNDIT brings up a great point: “Sunni jihadis and Shiite militias are half the problem. The other half is the Iraqi government, which is now so distrusted by the American military that the Baghdad operation is being organized with a novel command structure — including a “crisis counsel” comprised of Maliki, Iraqi ministers, and Gen. Petraeus in supreme command of the Iraqi military and Iraqi generals being paired with American babysitters — to make sure Sunni and Shiite commanders don’t go renegade. Quote:”

“We are implementing a strategy to embolden a government that is actually part of the problem,” said an American military official in Baghdad closely involved in negotiations over the plan, expressing frustration. “We are being played like a pawn.”…

A major worry among the Americans is that their own efforts to clear areas of the city will be used by militia groups, or even by the Shiite-dominated government forces, as an opening to grab territory and to seed the newly cleared area with their own allies. The concern centers on both Sunni and Shiite armed groups, but particularly on the Shiites. “We are doing their bidding unknowingly,” one American military official said.

“You go clean the area, but then it’s backfilled by JAM,” he said, in a reference to the Mahdi Army, the militia of the renegade Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. “That’s the heart of the problem.”

Article of interest: Two Alliances  President Bush has managed to divide and conquer the Middle East.

Others blogging this:

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Is It Just Me?, Big Dog’s Weblog, basil’s blog, Shadowscope, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Wake Up America, Rightwing Guy, The HILL Chronicles, Faultline USA, , stikNstein… has no mercy, The Pink Flamingo, Gone Hollywood, and OTB Sports, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Tags: Saddam, , 60, Minutes, , liberals, , Iraq, George, W., Bush, , War

Filed in: Right Wing, US Politics

Originally Posted by: Peejz

Related Posts on this blog:
» Subpoena Argument Sets off Battle Between President Bush, De (Fox News)
» Peter Daou: Hillary’s Iraq Petition: Tell Bush Not to Veto the Will of the People (HuffingtonPost)
» As President stumps for NJ GOP, Dems ask, ‘Why?’ (phillyburbs.com)
» Cox Calls for Party to Distance Itself from Bush - WHO-TV
» A Good Laugh - AgWeb
» Hillary for President? - Dissident Voice
» Senator Clinton Cautions Bush on Iran (New York Times)
» Hillary Clinton and the Pro-Israel Lobby - Dissident Voice
» Gingrich Lambastes President and Rove (New York Times)
» Bush promises to restore party potency in two years (The Washington Times)