After the total debacle in Iraq, now the differences have started coming to the fore among the highest US and Iraqi officials who are differing on policies. This became evident when Iraqi Prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, appealed Bush for the removal of Gen. Petraeus who is the head of US military operations in Iraq.
This response has come at a crucial time when Gen. Petraeus has to submit a report to Congress on Iraq, whereupon the US stay or withdrawal from Iraq will depend. Well, this makes one suspicious whether general Petraeus is making progress in Iraq, which makes Maliki worried because he has failed to achieve any benchmark so far, and that is why he wants Petraeus out from Iraq.
The equation between Al-Maliki, Gen. Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker is not balanced and Maliki is differing with both US officials on some key issues like US tactics of arming Sunnis in fight against al-Qaeda. Obviously, the tactic can be beneficial to eradicate al-Qaeda, however dangerous it may be. It can result in rising ethnic and sectarian tensions among the Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds.
Whereas, US officials differ on al-Maliki’s control of Iraqi military and police forces that has acted many times on sectarian bases and not on national interests. Maliki, being a Shiite, has ties with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who runs the Mahdi Army militia. Then, why to support Maliki when he is reluctant to shed his relations off with militants? And what if Maliki arms Shiites if US continues arming Sunnis against al-Qaeda.
After four years of failed efforts in Iraq, pressure on Bush is rising for withdrawl and US troops are well tired on the foreign war fronts and it may force Gen. Petraeus to give report against staying in Iraq. Is this the fear that makes Maliki afraid of aftermath, which perhaps will be beyond his control? However, after submitting the report, the most expected question that both US officials will face is why US troops should give their lives to give al-Maliki a political upper hand that he had repeatedly proved unable to capitalize.
