Photo: Iraq's Maliki called the US raid a "crime" that violated the SOFA. Here we go...

After a US raid in Iraq on Sunday left two dead, the word from the Iraqi government is: "Hand over those responsible to the courts." In other words: Hand over the US soldiers who participated in the raid to the Iraqi courts. For prosecution. Oh, and the detainees seized in the operation should be released while we're at it, handing over our solidiers for prosecution.

Ain't nation-building grand?

In fact, this outrageous demand of Herr Maliki presents the pure golden opportunity to pick up our marbles, our Bradley tanks and GO HOME. Leave. Goodbye and lotsa luck, you intractable barbarians, you. But no. My hunch is we will not hand over our troops (please, Lord, no), but we will indeed issue some big, fat, juicy apologies as we prostate ourselves for the fabulous privilege of remaining stuck in the Iraqi sand to fight off the local "al Qaeda" franchise--which, tragically, does nothing to fight off jihad franchises everywhere else, from Pakistan to Gaza to Brussels to Britain to--guess what?--Washington, DC. And then there's always Iran, whose responsibility for American casualties in Iraq goes unmentioned, let alone unpunished, as its centrifuges whir away...

It's all downhill from Global Superpower to Global Rent-a-Cop.