Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia, has repeatedly stressed that the military campaign he launched in March, backed by American and British forces, was not directed against any one faction, certainly not just the Mahdi militia.

ECONOMIST: Iraq, Iran and the United States

But the prime minister argues that he has at least two advantages: his experience in Brussels grappling with multinationals and national governments, and the fact that his government is not beholden to any one political faction or interest group.

ECONOMIST: Italy��s prime minister

And, again, that is not a proposition that should be -- that he believes will be embraced only by one political party or faction of the country, because there is a link here between the March on Washington and Seneca Falls and Stonewall.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing