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Just days after being confirmed as the nation’s newest Secretary of Defense, former CIA head Leon Panetta toured Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Iraq in particular, has publicly been a source of concern for the Obama administration – in June alone, more than 15 U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq – the greatest number in the past two years. U.S. troops are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year but American authorities are now angling for an invitation from the Iraqi government to remain longer. Defense Secretary Panetta blames insurgents armed and backed by neighboring Iran for the troop deaths and urged Iraqis to take action. The Iranian ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Danaeifar responded by saying “[t]he Americans are trying to make excuses… [they] are trying to suggest that if they leave, Iraq will be threatened by Iran.” Panetta’s trip to Iraq was aimed, in part, at upping the pressure on Iraqis. At a press conference, he said, “I’d like them to make a decision… Do they want us to stay? Don’t they want us to stay?… But dammit, make a decision.” Despite casting the decision as Iraq’s to make, Panetta asserted that ultimately, the U.S. would “do what we have to do unilaterally, ” to protect Americans. Inside Iraq, hundreds of anti-government activists gathered on Friday in Al-Tahrir Square in the capital, Baghdad, to protest the Al Maliki administration, accusing it of corruption, attacks on freedoms and rights, and doing little to curb unemployment or poverty, despite the nation’s oil wealth. The protesters were attacked and beaten by forces loyal to Prime Minister Al Maliki. Meanwhile, the U.S. just opened a second consulate in Northern Iraq to “boost investment.” Marriott International signed a deal on the same day to build a 200-room hotel and 75 executive suites over three years. The consulate was inaugurated in Kurdish Iraq by the U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey who claimed that Iraq needed the support of American businesses. And, just this morning, Iraq signed a “break-through” $12 billion deal with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi.

GUEST: Raed Jarrar, Iraqi-American blogger and political analyst based in Washington, D.C.

Read Raed Jarrar’s blog at raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com.