President Bush made a speech. Maliki pulls aside a handfull of reporters and gets front page coverage. Here is how the London Times headlines the interview: "Give us guns – and troops can go, says Iraqi leader"

The stories are all remarkably similar. Maliki wants more equipment for his (Shiite) forces. He thinks Rice was out of line to threaten his position. And, in some accounts, Maliki states that he has detained about 400 Mahdi militia members.

The Guardian.

The Washington Post.

The New York Times.

The Los Angeles Times.

Bravo! What a show from this "embattled" leader in his "race against time"! Everything will improve, he says, if his sectarian forces get more weapons. My, does he have some bite, too! There's something for everyone in these stories. That should make one wary.

Robert Novak points out why:

In a pre-Christmas visit to Iraq, Coleman and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida met with Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the Iraqi government's national security adviser. Coleman described their astounding encounter in a Dec. 19 blog entry: Dr. Rubaie "maintains that the major challenge facing Iraq is not a sectarian conflict, but rather al-Qaeda and disgruntled Baathists seeking to regain power. Both Senator Nelson and I react with incredulity to that assessment. Rubaie cautions against more troops in Baghdad."

Rubaie denied the overriding reality of sectarian violence in Baghdad because his government is tied to the Shiite belligerents in that conflict. While Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pays lip service to Bush's demand that he crack down on Mahdi Army commander Moqtada al-Sadr, U.S. officials recognize that Maliki's political support depends on the Shiite militia leader. Thus, Maliki's government is in denial about sectarian conflict. Maliki did not show up for a news conference in which he was scheduled to comment on Bush's new strategy, and he personally remains silent about the plan at this writing.