SULAIMANIYA, Northern Iraq - It began as a natural alliance, a political love affair. But after four years of American presence in Iraq, the amicable dialogue between the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurds is growing increasingly discordant. Beyond the culture gap, Iraqi Kurdistan is beginning to feel betrayed by its American allies.

"Between you and me, no one beats the Americans when it comes to rudeness and sheer gall," my driver comments, upon seeing a convoy of four cars without license plates ahead of us on the road from Sulaimaniya to Erbil - the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. "Look at their driving," he says. The last car, acting as a rear guard, keeps other cars from bypassing. The convoy leader, meanwhile, pushes the cars ahead of the convoy off the road, to the shoulder.