Fickle Friends in the War On Terror.(Scope)

Byline: Jonathan Tepperman

Barack Obama came to office promising to work with allies in the war on terror. But recent events are proving that's easier said than done: on three critical fronts, America's partners are proving unable--or unwilling--to help. Consider: last month Obama visited Iraq, from which he's promised to withdraw all U.S. troops by 2011. In Baghdad, the president urged Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to improve security and reach out to Iraq's Sunni minority (both key prerequisites to an American pullout). Maliki, however, is "feeling his oats" as his strength grows and the U.S. departure approaches, says Brookings Institution expert Michael O'Hanlon. That's making Maliki less accommodating to Sunnis and other minorities, delaying oil-sharing deals and plans to assimilate ex-insurgents into the Army. The result? A new wave of suicide bombings and gunfights between militants and government forces.

Obama's next stop was Istanbul, where he called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to cooperate ahead of an upcoming Mideast peace conference in Washington. But even if they wanted to--and it's not clear they do--both men would be hard-pressed to deliver. Netanyahu's a right-winger who leads a coalition that includes even more hawkish parties that would bolt at the first hint of a deal, bringing down his government. And the Palestinian Authority, discredited by its passivity in this winter's Gaza war, barely controls the West Bank. Hamas extremists rule Gaza, have refused to cooperate with Abbas and ...