"Nouri stands up to Tehran"One of the byproducts of the "surge" in Iraq is a strengthening of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's hand in dealing with Tehran. Amir Taheri writes  in the New York Post A few months ago, Washington circles saw Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as "Tehran's man" in Baghdad. Today, Tehran circles label him "Washington's man" in Baghdad. Maliki's government has the unenviable task of keeping the Americans in, when they don't want to stay - and the Iranians out, when they want to come in.Taheri supplies insight into the challenges ahead for Nouri, who is seriously cracking down on the Shiite terrorists backed by Iran.(Read Full Post)