BAGHDAD: Six years after the United States invaded Iraq, Americans and Iraqis for the first time have starkly different views about the country's future. Americans are ready to close the book on the war, but for Iraqis, the story is far from over.As the war enters its seventh year this week, Americans are winding down their military presence. Violence, while not over, it is at its lowest since the war began, and Iraqi forces, U.S. officials said, are better able than ever to secure their nation. The United States and Iraq have agreed that most U.S. troops must withdraw by the end of 2011.Iraqis, however, worry their war may be just beginning. January's provincial elections stoked tensions between Sunni Muslim Arabs and Kurds in northern Iraq that could spill into central Iraq. It's not clear how Iraqi forces will conduct themselves once their U.S. counterparts have left the battlefield.Which version of the story prevails in the next year will determine the pace of the U.S. troop withdrawal and what kind of Iraq will be left behind.From a U.S. perspective, Iraq is just one of a number of pressing issues, including the U.S. economic crisis, the war in Afghanistan and instability in Pakistan. They're interconnected, as the U.S. military can't increase its presence in Afghanistan without drawing down in Iraq and can't make progress in Afghanistan if Pakistan erupts into chaos, especially because a war costing hundreds of billions of dollars isn't sustainable in the current economy
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