Bush witholds support for Maliki

Al Sistani has withdrawn support from Maliki as well. His days are probably numbered. However, it is far from clear to me who is supposed to take over and save the day. The problems in Iraq are not caused by Maliki. The Iraqis are just too split to form an effective unitary government. Maybe Maliki will withold support from Bush as well!

Bush withholds support
TABASSUM ZAKARIA, Reuters
Published: 5 hours ago
President George W. Bush said yesterday it was up to the Iraqi people whether to replace Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and urged him to do more to broker peace between the warring sides.

Bush did not offer a direct endorsement of al-Maliki and acknowledged the difficulties in achieving political goals in Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said progress was "extremely disappointing."

"I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to ... come together to get, for example, an oil revenue law passed or provincial elections," Bush told reporters after meetings with the leaders of Canada and Mexico at the Montebello resort.



The United States increased the number of troops in Iraq to 162,000 to try to quell unrelenting violence so that the Iraqi government can move ahead with those political goals.

The chairman of the Senate armed services committee, Carl Levin, just back from a visit to Iraq, urged al-Maliki's government be voted out of power because it has been unable to reach compromises on policy issues. The Michigan Democrat made the joint statement with the committee's ranking Republican, John Warner of Virginia.

Bush argued some progress is being made in Iraq, pointing to oil revenue distribution to various provinces despite the lack of a new law as well as the passage of 60 pieces of legislation by the Iraqi parliament.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France's RTL Radio from Baghdad that Europe must play a bigger role in Iraq because "the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone." Kouchner is wrapping a three-day visit to Iraq.