They really don't like our soldiers

If anyone thinks that six years of military occupation left Iraqi's with a favorable view of the average American soldier, you only need to observe the attitude of post-"sovereignty" (and yes, those are cynical quotation marks) Iraqi authorities  to see otherwise.

According to McClatchy, ""The Iraqis have been hell-bent on taking control of all security operations in the city and completely excluding the Americans," one U.S. officer in Baghdad said, "to the point of completely refusing to permit U.S. patrols of any kind into the city except logistics convoys." 

And in Mosul, the Iraqi police are accusing the U.S. of breaking the current SOFA by entering an Iraqi police station on a patrol.

Remember that Iraq is getting more violent, not less, and so the decision by the Iraqi authorities to exclude the American military from helping with security is truly a sign that the "long-term partnership" that General Odierno and the rest of the Pentagon is hoping for might only have one willing side.  Although i wrote about it not too long ago, i recommend that Michael Schwartz's recent article for Tomdispatch.com, "Colonizing Iraq" be reread and absorbed, as it deals with many of these same issues.