The Iraqi government responded angrily to reports – based on Bob Woodward’s latest book The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008 - that the United States spied on Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It warned that, if the reports were true, ‘future ties with the United States could be in jeopardy.’

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Baghdad will raise the allegations with the U.S. and ask for an explanation.

If the reports are true, he said, it is proof of a lack of trust.

“It reflects also that the institutions in the United States are used to spy on their friends and their enemies in the same way,” al-Dabbagh said in a statement.

“If it is true, it casts a shadow on the future relations with such institutions.”

The White House has, as of yet, refused to comment on the case directly. When asked about the reports Press Secretary Dana Perino avoided the subject itself and instead commented on the relationship between Bush and Maliki. “We have a good idea of what Prime Minister Maliki is thinking because he tells us, very frankly and very candidly, as often as we can,” Perino said.

Interestingly enough, it seems that Iraqi government officials are more measured in their response when they do not speak on the record. “If this is true, then we feel sorry about that. We look upon the Americans as our partners. There’s nothing of real value that would require the Americans to spy on us. On top of that, we have nothing to hide from the Americans to make them have to spy on us,” an anonymous aide told The Associated Press.

The difference between the public and private reactions are, I think, logical. Maliki cannot afford to publicly present himself as someone willing to let himself be bullied by the United States. Members of the opposition often criticize him for being an American puppet. Reacting calmly in public to the spying reports would be political suicide for the Iraqi prime minister. He would lose face; something no Iraqi leader can afford.

On the other hand, he knows he is dependent on the U.S. He cannot afford to anger it too much. Not unimportantly, he knows that if he blows this out of perspective, the U.S. may decide to do something that is not in his own interest. He may publicly call for a quick American withdrawal, for instance, but it may very well be that – when there is no one listening in on the conversation – he tells American officials something else, or at least in less strong words.

Then again, the relationship between Washington and Baghdad has deteriorated in recent months. Today’s news is likely to make matters even worse.