BAGHDAD — At a moment of triumph, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki stood before a room full of reporters recently and publicly fretted about Iraq’s future. After six years, U.S. troops were completing their withdrawal from Iraqi cities, the first step toward their complete departure by the end of 2011. The prime minister has declared today’s deadline a holiday. And yet, Maliki acknowledged: ‘The challenge isn’t finished. . . . What country in the world has such terrorist attacks?’ Maliki described a nation that may be too feeble to overcome its legacy of violence and corruption. ‘I want [Iraq] to stand on its own feet,’ the prime minister said. He called on Iraqis to unite and do away with divisive, faction-based politics. Maliki’s extended question-and-answer session highlighted changes in Iraq in the last six years. Here was a leader engaging in a relatively frank public dialogue — something that would have been unthinkable under Saddam Hussein, or in many of Iraq’s neighbors even today. That sense of openness is in part a reflection of U.S. efforts to build a more democratic system. His acknowledgment of the difficulties ahead is a testament to the mistakes on America’s […]