In Iraq, a rift is emerging between U.S. and Iraqi forces. Several weeks after U.S. troops retreated from cities and townships, it appears Iraqi and U.S. forces are not on the same page in relation to how much authority U.S. troops now possess.

Last week, an American convoy was attacked by insurgents, and U.S. soldiers returned fire and pursued their AK-47-armed attackers. Three Iraqis were killed in the confrontation. When a senior Iraqi Army commander arrived on the scene, he charged the American troops with firing indiscriminately at civilians and ordered them to be taken into custody.

While the confrontation was defused and the Iraqi authorities backed down, the incident demonstrates both the dwindling authority the U.S. has in Iraq and the emerging hostility toward America among Iraqis.

The Iraqi commander later referred to the actions the U.S. troops took in self-defense as a “crime.” A U.S. military spokesman said two of those killed were assailants.

“The incident,” reported the Washington Post, “apparently the first time a senior Iraqi commander has sought to detain U.S. soldiers, signals a potential escalation of tensions between U.S. and Iraqi forces trying to find a new equilibrium as Iraq assumes more responsibility for its security” (July 25).

It also makes it harder for U.S. soldiers under attack to defend themselves without fear of repercussions from Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi forces have also questioned U.S. soldiers at checkpoints and prevented them from traveling into certain neighborhoods; in one instance, an Iraqi soldier drew his weapon on a U.S. armored vehicle.

One officer said U.S. soldiers “have been taken aback by the sudden intransigence of their Iraqi partners” (ibid.).

The police major overseeing the Iraqi investigation into last week’s incident, referring to the Americans in Iraq, said, “We don’t need them”—adding, after a pause, “except for fuel.”

As tensions rise between Iraq and the United States, watch for Iran to draw Iraq closer into its sphere of influence.