Maliki is having his feet put to the fire and rightly so. It would be considerably easier for him to step on the Shi’ites of Basra than it would closer to home in Baghdad. In fact, it may be the opportunity he is looking for. Just a thought.
If the USMC or the army has to take over the British mandate in Basra. The Shiites will be begging for the British to come back. This may bite Iran in the arse having thousands of battlehearded GI’s at their doorstep is not what they have in mind.