Washington silent as US-crafted regime under fire in Iraq

The US posted tens of thousands of troops in Iraq, huddled with its leaders and helped craft its laws -- but with the country swamped by deadly protests, Washington is staying out of the fray.Its apparent absence during a key turning point in Iraq lays bare how much its interests and influence have waned since the 2003 US-led invasion that opened the door to fellow Shiite-majority neighbour Iran."The (US-Iraq) gulf has never been so big, and keeps getting bigger," a senior Iraqi official told AF