And now a word from Secretary Rumsfeld:

This much is certain: Those who oppose the Iraqi people's transition to freedom and self-rule will not be permitted to derail it.

Evidently, the forces that have, at the most recent report as I write, seized control of Kut, Najaf and Kufa are fighting to keep Iraq submissive and dependant...

It's not that I think that Moqtada al-Sadr is a great guy, but for Rumsfeld to paint him as a 2-d cardboard villain like this instead of the smart, determined, 3-d villain that he actually is demonstrates Rumsfeld's unwonted contempt both for him and for us...