As Security Deteriorates at Home, Iraqi Leader Arrives in U.S. Seeking Aid
WASHINGTON — When Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq last visited the White House, he and his host painted a glowing picture of the situation in Iraq after the withdrawal of American forces.
“The prime minister leads Iraq’s most inclusive government yet,” President Obama said in a joint news conference with Mr. Maliki in December 2011. “Violence remains at record lows.”
Nearly two years later, however, many of the political and security gains that Mr. Obama acclaimed have been reversed. Bombings in Iraq have drastically increased. Al Qaeda in Iraq has been rejuvenated, and the terrorist group in Iraq has expanded into Syria to fuel the civil war there.
As Mr. Maliki prepares to meet with Mr. Obama on Friday he is appealing for military aid — Apache helicopter gunships, more American intelligence and other forms of counterterrorism support like reconnaissance drones that would be operated by Americans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/world/middleeast/iraqi-leader-on-fighting-terrorism.html