Newsweek shows their impartiality again, by interviewing Shi’ite nutjob Muqtada al-Sadr, and treating him with the same respect they would show to, say, someone like Kofi Annan: Interview: Iraqi’s al-Sadr on the Occupation. (Hat tip: Uncle Bubba.)

(Instead of “Kofi Annan,” I was going to write “someone like President Bush,” but then I remembered how Newsweek normally treats the president.)

And just like the Democratic Party, al-Sadr demands a timetable for withdrawal.

NEWSWEEK requested an interview with Sadr several weeks ago and gave him a list of questions. Last week he provided an eight-page response, typed in Arabic. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: In 2003, the Americans and various Iraqi parties described you and your followers as a minor force. Clearly no one would say that now.
SADR: Time elapsed; things became clear and resulted in the Sadr trend—a powerful, loyal political and military force. At the same time, I reach out my hand to cooperate [and] to make peace in Iraq, to drive away the shadow of the armies of darkness. The occupation is the creator of all problems. I pray to Allah to take away the problems and their creator.

At one point the U.S. military and [American] political spokesmen said it was their aim to “kill or capture” you. Your reaction now?
Their threats are still on, and my life is cheap as a price for the service of Islam. America is baring its teeth against Shiite mosques and sanctuaries.

What happened to the murder warrant issued against you and some other people in the matter of Ayatollah [Abdel Majid] al-Khoei [Khoei was killed in April 2003]?
The arrest warrant was issued by the occupation, not by the Iraqi courts, and this is not legal. Many people were arrested over this matter, and they were released. This is true evidence that they are innocent.

It is said that you have made some contacts with Sunni resistance figures. Do you still have such relationships with them in the wake of the [attack on the Askariya shrine in Samarra]?
There is no Sunni or Shia resistance; there is an Iraqi Islamic resistance. But I address the Sunnis through NEWSWEEK: One, they should specify their stance toward attacks on civilians. After the attack in Samarra, the Sunnis didn’t have a clear stance. Two, their stance toward Takfiris [adherents to the extremist ideology espoused by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] is not clear. Three, they should specify their stance toward the Shia. Are we Muslims or not? Four, they should demand the execution of Saddam Hussein. And five, they should specify their stance toward families who have been displaced. …

Your partners in the ruling coalition are very much against insisting that the Americans leave immediately from Iraq; [they think] it would be a disaster.
We want to build our country by our own hands. I demand a timetable. Even if it is for a long time, it doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to have a timetable for it.

Isn’t it true that American advisers are not allowed into the ministries you control?
Yes, it is forbidden, and it is prohibited for anyone to deal with them. Otherwise he will be disobedient to God and I will have no relation with him.