By Wolf Blitzer, CNN

(CNN) - On Monday at the White House, President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were upbeat in discussing the future of Iraq. I hope they are right, but like so many U.S. officials and outside experts in Washington and the region, I am deeply worried about the direction of that embattled country.

Item: The Iraqi government rejected U.S. requests to leave even a modest number of U.S. troops on the ground. That’s because Iran’s allies in the Iraqi government would have none of that.
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