MALIKI NOT MUCH BETTER THAN KARZAI

Pres. Karzai of Afghanistan is sometimes referred to as the Mayor of Kabul because he controls so little of the county. Similarly, Pres. Maliki of Iraq pledged to crush the Mahdi militia in Basra but not only had to settle for a cease-fire, members of his own party with to Iran to directly negotiate in Al-Sadr. Juan Cole has more.