Al-Maliki on Notice

I'm optimistic, but not convinced he has either the will or the power to back it up, but here's the news:

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's prime minister has told Mahdi Army militiamen they must surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, revealing a pledge Washington wanted to hear as American and Iraqi troops prepared a fresh operation to end the bloody sectarian war gripping Baghdad.

The blunt message was particularly significant given that Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi leader, previously had blocked several U.S. attempts to crack down on the military wing of radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, now one of the most powerful players in Iraq.

Bush evidently made it implicitly clear that this is the end. If no results are seen, the American public will demand we pull out and Bush will have no choice but to do it. The public will is ebbing (yet not gone) and they will not stand for the Iraqi's dragging their feet anymore.