Ah, the joys of sovereignty

According to the LA Times, the U.S. is moving to "reassert itself" in Iraq's political affairs. Money:

One official said that although the Iraqis were "the ultimate determinants of their own destiny … we have 140,000 troops here, and they are getting shot at."

"We're also spending a lot of money. We don't dictate action plans," the official said. "But we constantly remind them that we're working toward the same goal, and we have our 'red lines.'"

What are those red lines? Like, democratic, pluralistic, united... alas, achieving all three may simply be impossible.