The more things change the more they stay the same: The U.S. made its mark on Iraq with a military intervention. Iran has reshaped the country through shared religious beliefs. Now, as American influence wanes here, Turkey, a neighbor to the north, is wielding economic clout to become a major player in Iraq.

From The Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. made its mark on Iraq with a military intervention. Iran has reshaped the country through shared religious beliefs. Now, as American influence wanes here, Turkey, a neighbor to the north, is wielding economic clout to become a major player in Iraq.

Turkey is today the country's biggest trading partner, with exports nearly tripling since 2007. Rising Turkish influence is evident almost everywhere: Private companies are cleaning streets, training doctors, operating the best hotels and providing the bulk of electricity to Basra, one of Iraq's most power-challenged cities. Turkey's commercial offensive is part of the broader assertiveness that is transforming it into a regional power across the Middle East.

In a sense, Turkey's widening commercial role in Iraq has been late in coming. Turkey opposed the U.S.-led invasion, and then paid the price when the occupation government hamstrung Turkish trade and favored companies from more cooperative allies. Turkey, too, initially recoiled from the new Iraq, anxious about regional instability and a quasi-independent Kurdish region on its border.

One result: Iran, the other big regional power bordering Iraq, dramatically expanded its influence, building on historic ties with Iraq's majority Shia Muslims.