What exactly is the US military mission in Iraq?

I'll bet this went down well with the soldiers in the field.

These tensions played out today when the Maliki government demanded that the American military command release a senior aide to Mr. Sadr who had been captured on Tuesday on suspicion of attacking American forces and of directing kidnappings, killings and torture of Sunni Arabs and Shiites.

The American military command provided no explanation for the release of the aide, Sheik Mazin al-Saedi, except to say it was in response to a request by the Iraqi government. “It’s a government of Iraq issue,” said Lt. Col. Christopher C. Garver, a military spokesman in Baghdad.

It appears this was part of some bargain struck between Maliki and Sadr today. I wonder if Maliki knew about the raid.

And, Tony Snow endorses Friedman's idea that the current violence is "the jihadist equivalent of the Tet offensive." Later: In an interview, Bush doesn't rule out the parallel. So, it's intentional. Interesting politics.