US puts Maliki on the clock in Iraq (AFP)

US puts Maliki on the clock in Iraq

by Stephen Collinson

2 hours, 36 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is putting Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki and fellow Iraqi leaders on the clock, as frustration
in Washington mounts at his government's inability to stem raging
violence.

A fearsome week in Iraq which saw Baghdad's worst rash of bombings
in three years and a surge in the numbers of US soldiers killed,
tightened the political screws on President George W. Bush's
administration ahead of crucial November elections.

Top US officials further sharpened the public US message towards the
Maliki government -- a process which started with anonymous quotes
by US officials leaked to US newspapers in September -- and reached
a new pitch when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into
Baghdad on Thursday.

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Rice did not provide a deadline, but US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay
Khalilzad indicated a week ago on CNN that the window for critical
action to stem the carnage in Iraq may be down to two months.

-snip-