IT'S THE CORRUPTION STUPID

the left wing blogs are trumpeting that Iraq backs Obama's withdrawal, and the right wing blogs are trumpeting the original audio tape that shows Spiegel translated Maliki's remarks incorrectly.

Strategy Page has a third take on the kerfluffle:It's the (bribe) money stupid:

The U.S. is negotiating, with the Iraqi government, a renewal of its authority to operate in Iraq. This authority expires at the end of the year. As part of the negotiations, the Iraqis are asking for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. This is popular with many Iraqis, especially those in the government who are getting rich by stealing oil money.

As long as the American troops are in the country, auditors have armed protection and can be very effective at revealing the thefts and getting the thieves punished. This makes thieving government officials very uncomfortable. Corruption in general remains a major problem (as it is in all Middle Eastern countries). While many Iraqis would like to see clean government, they are usually not the ones who get elected (elections involve a lot of bribery and trading of favors.)

Hmmm...sounds like here.