Three days. That is how long it took Washington to go from warning that Iraqi government elements are providing cover for Iran-backed militias to congratulating Tehran’s hand-picked prime minister and inviting him to the White House.

Ali al Zaidi, a known money launderer and dollar smuggler whose Al-Janoob Islamic Bank has been under coordinated sanctions by the Iraqi Central Bank and the U.S. Department of Treasury, is now sitting in Baghdad’s seat of power. However, he is not the architect of this takeover. He is its product.