The liberal SurrenderMedia have been misinforming this nation about what is going on in Iraq. In a rare moment of candor CNN allowed Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to burst all their fantasies and misinformation regarding what has been happening with the Militias and Iran over the past couple of weeks. It was a royal drubbing of the SurrenderMedia to be sure:

ROBERTSON: Mr. Prime Minister, you surprised a lot of U.S. officials when you went on the offensive in Basra. Why didn’t you tell the Americans what you were doing?

AL-MALIKI: I think this is not correct. Initially the desire was for those operations to be an Iraqi responsibility and undertaking. and we did ask the coalition forces — both the U.S. and British forces — not to participate or get involved directly because that would give an excuse to some militant groups to say that this is a foreign force attacking us. But as far as General [David] Petraeus is concerned he was informed and he was in the picture about what we were going to do, and we told him this is an Iraqi operation that will target gangs — some outlaws who were controlling the ports or are involved in smuggling or killing, and we made it very clear to them that we want it to be an Iraqi operation and when there is a need for assistance from Multi-National Forces we will make a request. So they were informed, and there was agreement with both the Americans and British sides that this should be an Iraqi operation. Legally we also had to make the operation an Iraqi one, because we were handed over the security portfolio in Basra and so it legally became an Iraqi responsibility, and during our discussions with coalition officials they told us they could not go into Basra because the security portfolio had been handed over and Iraqis are in charge of Basra.

…

ROBERTSON: What is the long-term solution to bring security in Sadr City? It’s an area U.S. troops can’t go into. It’s become a haven for militias, even special groups who are getting weapons from Iran, training from Iran to attack here in the Green Zone. What is the long term solution?

AL-MALIKI: With regards to Sadr City and another city, Shula, we have opened the door for confrontation, a real confrontation with these gangs, and we will not stop until we are in full control of these areas. Politically, we have managed to gather a wide national front to politically confront this issue. Yesterday the Political Council for National Security had a meeting and issued a resolution with a number of points and action necessary to end the existence of this gang. The operation has started and will not stop until a decisive victory is achieved, a victory that will not enable these people to attack the Green Zone or other areas, now [that] they are suffering from a breakdown in their operations.

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ROBERTSON: Why did Iran help you convince Muqtada al-Sadr end the fighting?

AL-MALIKI: I am not aware of such an attempt. What happened on the ground and the breakdown in the structure of this militia is what made Muqtada al-Sadr issue his statement to withdraw his militants from the streets and condemn these operations, and he denied having any heavy weapons [artillery], which gave the government the right to search for these weapons, confiscate them if found, in addition to arresting anyone in possession [of heavy weapons]. What happened was something to save Muqtada not to help us.

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ROBERTSON: This is a political confrontation with Muqtada al-Sadr now and he supported you to become prime minister?

AL-MALIKI: Actually, I was the one who supported him. It was not him who supported me. I supported him by enabling him to have more members in parliament, this is one of the facts the media gets wrong. He wasn’t very much welcomed into the United Iraqi Alliance as a partner in the elections. I made an effort to bring more of his people into the political process in an aim to get them away from the violence and to avoid problems in the elections. I insisted they be part of the elections and gave them five seats out of the share of my party, the Islamic Dawa party, to pull them away from the acts of violence and terror and into political life. So he is indebted to me, not the other way ’round.

ROBERTSON: Why aren’t you going after the militias and the political parties such as the Islamic Supreme Council for Iraq, your political allies who have the Badr militia, the Fadhila party, your political allies who have a militia as well, why aren’t you targeting them?

AL-MALIKI: If you look at the situation in detail, you would find that I have dealt with all those who have gangs and militias. Those you have mentioned, some of their elements who have committed crimes were arrested, but these parties did not object.

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ROBERTSON: What achievements have you achieved in the war on terror?

AL-MALIKI: Al-Qaeda and terrorist organizations were planning to turn Iraq into what you used to hear about, the Islamic State, which they wanted to be the base for al-Qaeda because Iraq is a strong and rich country and is geographically significant. So they were planning and came from different parts of the world to Iraq to establish this alleged state, and maybe it was an opportunity when they gathered in Iraq and were targeted decisively. That wrecked their plans and even affected the structure and organization of al-Qaeda in different parts of the world. I believe al-Qaeda tried all its power in Iraq and was defeated, and its defeat in Iraq requires us to pursue it in the other countries to finish this dangerous organization in the world.

The whole interview is a real eye-opener for the lefties. Robertson floats a favorite liberal fantasy and Maliki points out the ignorance behind the fantasy. If CNN keeps this up I may have to promote CNN out of the SurrenderMedia class. Poor Surrendercrats, still looks like things are heading in a great direction for Iraq. Maybe they should just stop the senseless and wildly gyrating hand-wringing, makes them look foolish anyway.