Mary Beth Sheridan of the Washington Post writing an article appearing in the Seattle Times October 28 and datelined from Baghdad stated the following:

"A deal to authorize the presence of American forces in Iraq beyond 2008 is forcing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to choose between two influential powers in this country, the United States and Iran.

"U.S. officials had hoped Iraq would quickly approve the accord which would give American troops legal authority to remain in Iraq after December 31, when the mandate from the United Nations expires.  But Iraqi political leaders have balked, in a sign that American political capital is waning as Iraq grows.

"'Maliki is in a dilemma.  He cannot antagonize the Americans,' said Ghassan al-Attiyah, a prominent Iraqi intellectual and political analyst based at the Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy in London.