Coup plot in Iraq? Part II

The NYTimes is proposing a wholly different cause for the Total Curfew. (We've had no confirmation of Engel's report that this was a coup plot, and no confirmation of CNN's the US military was "taken by surprise.")

American forces detained an Iraqi working for one of Iraq’s most prominent Sunni Arab political leaders on Friday on suspicion that the man was helping to plan a multiple-car suicide bombing inside the Green Zone, the military said.

Shortly after Iraqi television channels began Friday night to broadcast news of the detention, the Iraqi prime minister’s office took the unusual step of banning all vehicle and pedestrian traffic in Baghdad until Sunday morning.

The government declined to give a reason for the curfew and did not say whether it was linked to the detention.

I don't buy this connection. If the curfew was just to stop bombers, certainly the US would've been consulted.

I see three reasons this total lockdown would be announced without US knowledge.

1) Time sensitivity. (But really, it's a phone call.)
2) Fear of a US refusal. (Does the US want this headline?)
3) That it was a coup plot, and Maliki wasn't sure if he could trust the Americans. (Think about that for a minute.)

We'll probably have alot better idea tomorrow morning.

One more thought as this spins out. If Maliki didn't trust the US, his natural reach for more support will be to the main Shia powers, Sciri and Sadr, meaning more reluctance to go after their militias, less cooperation with the US, a shakier Sunni/Kurd participation in the government, and, of course, still more violence.