From CNN.COM:

Iraqi prime minister: ‘I’m not America’s man’

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday referred to the boundary between himself and the United States, telling U.S. President Bush that he answers first to the Iraqi government and people, according to an Iraqi official.

The clarification first came up Friday during a private meeting between al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, according to an Iraqi parliament member who is also al-Maliki’s senior aide.

“I consider myself a friend of the U.S., but I’m not America’s man in Iraq,” al-Maliki told the U.S. ambassador, according to Hassan al-Seneid.

The prime minister told Khalilzad that as head of a national unity government, he must win the approval of Iraq’s parliament before acting on any proposals, al-Seneid said.

Al-Maliki repeated the message to Bush during a video conference Saturday, in which the two leaders discussed transferring power to Iraqi forces, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said.
(more here)