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Lobbying 2014: Podesta plays matchmaker for estranged US, Iraq

The United States and Iraq find themselves in intensive couples counseling as they try to save a failing marriage of convenience that could hold the key to defeating the biggest terrorist threat since al-Qaeda.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a joint news conference in Baghdad November 30, 2011. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq opened a new phase in relations between the two countries, including a robust security partnership. REUTERS/Saad Shalash (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR2UN9O

The United States and Iraq both hoped they’d be seeing a lot less of each other when the last American troops left the country in 2011.

Instead, they find themselves in intensive couples counseling as they try to save a failing marriage of convenience that could hold the key to defeating the biggest terrorist threat since al-Qaeda.

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