Joel Wing reports on a fight between the White House and the military over US troop levels:
The problem stems from the fact that the military doesn’t believe that Iraq can run itself. It thinks that everything will fall apart if it were to ever leave. That’s why it has been pushing for a troop extension with as many soldiers as it can.
Mercifully, the Iraqis probably won't let the military-industrial complex have its way:
Iraq's fractured politics are going to be a major factor in deciding what happens from here. To ignore the wishes of the Iraqis in this matter would be tantamount to denying the sovereignty that was returned with so much fanfare more than five years ago. Maliki's cabinet has agreed to negotiate an extended US presence – but has insisted any possible deal be limited to training only. Maliki, as a politician whose own constituency is generally hostile to any extension of what many there still call the US "occupation," would be asking for serious political trouble by openly advocating a larger US presence.
The Dish 