When US President George W. Bush and the Iraqi prime minister last met in the White House in late July, Mr Bush praised the courage of Nouri al-Maliki. The US president promised more troops to reinforce Baghdad and a continued US commitment to the Iraqi people who were demonstrating their attachment to democracy.

Since then, according to the United Nations, Iraqis are being killed at a rate of 100 a day, with 3,700 deaths in October alone. During this period, 400,000 Iraqis have fled the country, and 300 US troops have died.