Iraq is continuing its war of words with Syria over the latter's sheltering of al Qaeda and Ba'athist terror groups. From Reuters:

"Why must they insist on sheltering the armed organizations and those wanted by Iraqi courts and Interpol on Syrian lands?" Maliki was quoted by his office as saying.

...

"The crisis with Syria is not new. We have made contacts with ... Syrian officials regarding the activity of leaders from the disbanded Baath Party and terrorist organizations that work against Iraq from Syrian lands," he said on Thursday.

Interestingly, Maliki is turning the tables on Syria (and by default on Syria's main backer, Iran, who also sponsors and harbors terror groups on its own soil) by accusing Syria and its ilk of no longer having any pretext to shelter terror groups:

"Some neighboring countries consider the MNF (U.S. troop) presence damaging to their national security and ... interfere under the pretext of resisting occupation," Maliki said. "After the withdrawal of U.S. troops, this is no longer acceptable."

Iraq is taking its case to the UN and wants a tribunal to investigate. This issue bears watching. As Iraq becomes increasingly more independent, its leaders must become more assertive with its neighbors in opposing terror sponsorship, as security rests on the shoulders of Iraqi politicians and not the US.