The Obama administration is signaling that it wants a new government in Iraq without Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, convinced the Shiite leader is unable to reconcile with the nation's Sunni minority and stabilize a volatile political landscape.

The U.S. administration is indicating it wants Iraq's political parties to form a new government without Mr. Maliki as he tries to assemble a ruling coalition following elections this past April, U.S. officials say.

Such a new government, U.S., officials say, would include the country's Sunni and Kurdish communities and could help to stem Sunni support for the al Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, that has seized control of Iraqi cities over the past two weeks. That, the officials argue, would help to unify the country and reverse its slide into sectarian division.
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The chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) told a congressional hearing Wednesday: "The Maliki government, candidly, has got to go if you want any reconciliation."

http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-signals-1403137521

Iraq crisis: US 'urging Maliki to resign' – live updates

Nouri al-Maliki's office has rejected external calls for him to resign as prime minister.

His spokesman Zuhair al-Nahar pointed out that Maliki recieved the largest share of the vote in this year's elections and that it was for the Iraqi people and politicians to chose their prime minister.

He also insisted that Maliki had "never used sectarian tactics".

Speaking to the Today programme he said the west should immediately support the Iraqi government's military operation against Isis rather than demand a change of government.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/19/iraq-crisis-us-urging-maliki-to-resign-live-updates

Biden calls three Iraqi leaders to urge unity against ISIL insurgents

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke with three key Iraqi leaders on Wednesday to urge unity against insurgents led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to emphasise the need to form an inclusive government after national elections held on April 30, the White House said.

Biden spoke separately with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as well as Maliki's Sunni rival, parliamentary speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

"In each call, the vice president also stressed the need for national unity in responding to the ISIL threat against all Iraqi communities, for coordination on security issues going forward, and for moving forward with urgency in forming a new government under the constitution," the White House said in a statement about the phone calls.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/19/uk-iraq-security-usa-biden-idUKKBN0EU00820140619