Iraqi PM Demands Respect

Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri Maliki, privately chastised the United States’ patronizing attitude regarding Iraqi sovereignty, saying he is not “America’s man in Iraq.”

Los Angeles Times:

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and the U.S. Embassy said in the statement that they had agreed to unspecified timelines to make tough political and security decisions on the country’s future.

Privately, however, Maliki criticized what he called the patronizing U.S. tone toward the Iraqi government and warned U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to respect Iraq’s sovereignty, two of the prime minister’s advisors said.

“I’m a friend to the United States, but not America’s man in Iraq,” Maliki told Khalilzad, according to Hassan Senaid, one of the prime minister’s closest advisors.

Previously, Maliki had vehemently rejected the notion of deadlines for his government to achieve key goals, but the statement said that “the Iraqi government has made clear the issues that must be resolved with timelines for them to take positive steps forward on behalf of the Iraqi people.”

Link

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