Top Iraqi’s White House Visit Shows Gaps With U.S.

Divisions are appearing between Iraq's new government and the Bush administration. But divisions of such magnitude that it is unlikely Bush will ever be able to accept them, rendering claims of Iraqi independence as meaningless.

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki plans to ask George Bush for several things when he visits the White House.

He wants US troops to be tried under Iraqi law, Israel to cease it's attacks on Lebanon and for Iraq to maintain strong ties with Iran.

That's quite a shopping list to bring to the White House lawn.

The growing differences between Iraqi and American policies reflect an increasing disenchantment with American power among politicians and ordinary Iraqis, according to several politicians, academics and clerics. Sectarian violence has soared despite the presence of the Americans, and recent cases where American troops have been accused of killing civilians or raping Iraqi women have infuriated the public.

To forge unity and win the confidence of the Iraqis, officials say, he has to take some stands that conflict with those of the White House, while relying on the American military to ward off the Sunni-led insurgency.

But in Washington, administration officials said they viewed Mr. Maliki’s public breaks with American policy positions as proof that he was his own man leading his own government, and was not a prop of the Americans.

No, proof that he is his own man running his own country will be based on how much of this he is actually given. After all, it's their country and they make the rules... don't they?

With the exception of the bombing of Lebanon, which really isn't under Maliki's remit, proof of just how independent Iraq really is will be found in Bush's answers.

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Tags: Prime Minister, Nuri, Kamal, al-Maliki, George, Bush, White House, visit, US, Iraq,