It has been a week of growing pains for Iraq as its recent parliamentary election refuses to end. First, there was the disqualification of certain candidates, post-election, which resulted in an advantage to the incumbent prime minister, Nuri Al-Maliki. Score one for Al-Maliki. Second, a secret prison in Baghdad was revealed where torture, according to Human Rights Watch, was just part of a day's routine. Prisoners were forced to have sex with one another while guards watched. Some tell of the bottoms of their feet being beaten, electrical shocks and hanging upside down for long periods of time. The existence of the prison is despicable enough. The fact that responsibility for the prison lies in an office that reports directly to the prime minister's office is even more troubling. Al-Maliki claims he knew nothing of the prison but it will reflect on him badly, nevertheless, especially since most of the prisoners were said to be Sunni and Al-Maliki's government is primarily Shiite. Iraq, needless to say, has a long road ahead of it. US President Obama appears intent on getting US troops out of Iraq this year and the hostilities that continue to break out and the occasional acts of terror in Baghdad do not appear likely to sway him from his deadline. At the moment, given the delays in finishing the vote count and challenges coming from all directions, this could mean that the US will have withdrawn its forces before a new Iraqi government based on recent elections could be formed. There was a time when the Iraqi government claimed that once the Americans leave, a functional government will spring into place. It now appears that any departure of American forces may well provide a cosmetic sense of satisfaction to Iraqis, but it will have little impact on truly resolving the huge problems facing Iraq. That will be left where it belongs
