Iraq's rebuff of US has element of posturing

Iraq's public rebuff of a U.S. offer of help with national reconciliation efforts may in part be political posturing. It also points to the dilemma facing the prime minister _ he needs U.S. help and must garner support from Iraqis fed up with the American presence.

Even though the United States has long sought to nudge Iraq's deeply divided factions together, stark differences remain more than six years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

The Americans, with their combat troops now out of the cities, find themselves struggling to redefine their relationship with an Iraqi government that is increasingly asserting its …