"A Defining Moment in Iraq"

"I would say that [attacking the Mahdi Army] is a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq. There have been other defining moments up to now but this is a defining moment," Bush said.

A cease-fire was brokered with the assistance of Iranian Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, who is the commander of the Quds Force.

It seems to be a near-unanimous consensus (outside of the Bush Administration) that the attack by the Iraqi Army was a failure. The main winner was Moqtada al-Sadr. Prime Minister al-Maliki tried to take out Sadr's militia, he had to call in American and British support and then couldn't crush the militia.

"Defining moment," indeed. It defined Iran as the real power broker in Iraq.

Beyond that, let's not forget that this latest fiasco came right on the heels of the recent visit to Iraq by our own Vice President Voldemort. So it is indeed quite possible that this latest disaster has his fingerprints all over it.