Hot on the heels of the GOP demonizing John Murtha for suggesting we start thinking about getting the hell out of Iraq, comes a rare show of unity from Iraq's squabbling factions -- a demand that we start thinking about getting the hell out of Iraq.

But they went a step further and rejected the label of "terrorism" for attacks that do not target civilians:

Leaders of Iraq's sharply divided Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis called Monday for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces in the country and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance.

The final communique, hammered out at the end of three days of negotiations at a preparatory reconciliation conference under the auspices of the Arab League, condemned terrorism, but was a clear acknowledgment of the Sunni position that insurgents should not be labeled as terrorists if their operations do not target innocent civilians or institutions designed to provide for the welfare of Iraqi citizens.

The participants in Cairo agreed on ``calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces ... control the borders and the security situation'' and end terror attacks.

The conference was attended by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish lawmakers, as well as leading Sunni politicians.

Seems pretty clear to me. And it definitely puts the GOP bluster in an interesting context. I'm expecting a stern lecture from Dick Cheney directed at the Iraqi government about "staying the course" and "accepting nothing less than victory" and not "cutting and running" and other such manly topics.

Or perhaps the (democratically-elected) government will get branded as "terrorists" for not considering attacks on US troops to be "terrorism." That would be fun.