Some pretend that the rise in violence there – to levels not seen since 2008 – has nothing to do with Syria. They lay all the blame for Iraq’s problems at the door of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a tough-minded Shia politician who has led the venerable Dawa Party to the head of a broad Shia coalition that helped him win a second term in December 2010.
但目前受连累最深的莫过于伊拉克（除叙利亚之外伊拉克同样需要美国的重点关注）。某些人佯装伊拉克暴力达到2008年以来的高峰与叙利亚无关。他们将伊拉克所有问题一股脑推到带领受人尊敬的达瓦党登上大什叶派联盟宝座的意志坚定的什叶派政治家、总理努里·马利基身上，马利基也凭借这次成功于2010年12月再次登上了总理宝座。