Iraq's own Arab spring  A renewed sense of nationalism is
uniting protesters over delays to US troop withdrawal     • The
Guardian,     • Jump to comments () iraq united states Followers
of Muqtada al-Sadr burn US flags during a rally marking the
eighth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad on April 9.
Photograph: Karim Kadim/AP  Stretched close to the limit by
combat in Afghanistan and determined not to get into a ground
war in Libya, the Pentagon is stepping up the pressure to
maintain a huge US troop presence in today's largely peaceful
Iraq. What might seem at first sight strange and unnecessary is
in fact fully in line with the ambitions of those who planned
the invasion eight years ago. Whether neocons or "realists",
they always wanted to have a long-term political and military
footprint in the northern sector of the Middle East,
strategically placed between Syria and Iran.  As with so many
elements of the geopolitical strategy he inherited from George
Bush, Barack Obama has gone along with it. So it shoul