Maliki disowns US statements

Maliki has bristled in response to the "major" US announcement of a timetable yesterday. (Reuters)

The defiant al-Maliki also slammed the top U.S. military and diplomatic representatives in Iraq for saying Iraq needed to set a timetable to curb violence ravaging the country.

"I affirm that this government represents the will of the people and no one has the right to impose a timetable on it," al-Maliki said at a news conference.

Far more interesting to me has been the politics around a US raid on Sadr City which was presumably conducted to reinforce yesterday's message.

Unusually, the U.S. statement specifically said the raid had been "authorized by the government of Iraq."....

Asked about the raid by reporters, however, Maliki appeared to contradict the U.S. account, saying: "We will be seeking an explanation from the multinational forces to avoid a repetition of what happened without our cooperation in advance."

The song remains the same.