Writes the AP about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s response to criticism from U.S. politicians:

“Regrettably these statements made by U.S. officials sometimes exceed reasonable limits and at the same time send regrettable messages which help terrorists think that the security situation in the country is weak and the political forces are not cohesive,” al-Maliki told reporters.

He added that critics are sending “negative messages that encourage terrorism.”

Now where have we heard this before? Oh, yes . . .

“To those who pit Americans against immigrants, citizens against non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve,” Ashcroft told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “They give ammunition to America’s enemies and pause to America’s friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil.”

al-Maliki’s puppeteers have taught him well.