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Nouri Kamal Al-Maliki, who became prime minister of Iraq in May 2006, was a compromise candidate. He was seen at the time as the weakest of the available candidates - a virtually unknown representative of the Islamic Al-Da'wa Party, at the time a junior partner in the predominantly Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA). The occupying power, the United States, favored him because of his reputation as "independent of Iran," as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalman Khalilzad put it.(1)  To the surprise - and perhaps consternation - of both his critics and his allies, Al-Maliki not only won the elections, but...

While the Obama Administration has decided to send an ambassador to Syria, the Iraqi government has withdrawn theirs. After seven years of Syria supporting the insurgency, deliberately contributing to the deaths of Iraqis and Coalition soldiers, the al-Maliki government is standing up against Assad’s terrorism in a way the U.S. is currently failing to. The diplomatic crisis began shortly after twin bombings in Baghdad on August 19. The attacks occurred across the street of the Foreign Ministry and at the Finance Ministry, killing over 100 people. This was the deadliest incident since U.S. forces were removed from the cities, handing...

Iraq's leader declared victory Saturday as the country began to end a foreign occupation with the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from cities, and told Iraqis not to lose faith if the pullback resulted in attacks. As part of a security pact signed between Baghdad and Washington last year, U.S. combat forces must leave urban centers by June 30 and the entire force that invaded Iraq in 2003 must be gone by 2012. "It is a great victory for Iraqis that we are taking the first step toward ending the foreign presence in Iraq," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a...

Maybe now that President Obama’s in charge of the war in Iraq, and there’s no need to lie, distort, or half quote truths to oppose the war (can’t oppose it if it’s run by a Democrat)…maybe now people will realize: 1) the matter was never closed by any investigation 2) there’s hundreds of times more information demonstrating ties than there is dismissing them BAGHDAD — The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said Al Qaida worked closely with former operatives in Saddam Hussein regime. Officials said leading members of the Al Qaida network have coordinated operations with Saddam...

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki had to flee from Iraq in 1979 to escape Saddam's henchmen Thursday, 30 April 2009 Nouri al-Maliki fled Iraq in 1979 to escape Saddam's henchmen, who he believed had orders to execute him. For the next 24 years, Maliki remained an exiled dissident, travelling between Jordan, Syria, Iran and Damascus - all the time raising political opposition to the immovable dictator he despised. Maliki was an establishment child in pre-Saddam Iraq. His grandfather was a poet and Shia Islamic cleric as well as education minister for a short time under the nation's last deposed monarch....

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki unexpectedly cancelled a scheduled visit to Tehran, which was to follow an official visit to Turkey. Reliable sources explained that Maliki’s sudden return to Baghdad has to do with the possibility that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama might be visiting U.S. troops in Iraq during Christmas. Source: Al-Wasat, Iraq, December 24, 2008

The name: Muntadhar al-Zeidi -- a new hero to many in the Muslim world. President Bush -- in a surprise, end-of-term visit to Iraq -- held a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Zeidi, an Iraqi "reporter," shouted, "This is your farewell kiss, you dog," and threw a shoe at Bush. The reporter quickly threw a second. The shoes missed their target only because an agile President Bush managed to duck.

Pope Benedict told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday that minority Christians in Iraq needed more protection but the Iraqi leader assured him that Christians were not being persecuted. Maliki, who met the pope for 20 minutes at the pontiff's summer residence south of Rome, invited the pontiff to visit Iraq, saying a trip there would help the process of peace and reconciliation. "We renewed our invitation for His Holiness to visit Iraq. He welcomed the invitation. And we hope that he will be making the visit as soon as he can," he told reporters in the palace after...

Pope Benedict receives PM Nouri Al-Maliki Vatican City, Jul 25, 2008 / 10:31 am (CNA).- Today at Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father met with Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Kamel Al-Maliki.  During the course of their meeting, Pope Benedict stressed the need to end violence in the country, and received an invitation to visit Iraq. According to a press release from the Vatican, their discussion, “provided an opportunity to examine a number of fundamental aspects of the situation in Iraq,” and its surrounding region.The heads of stated focused on the struggles of the “many Iraqi refugees, both inside and outside...

Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki, despite owing his job to Bush and McCain, presented Obama with a big fat bouquet. His assertion, in an interview with Der Spiegel, that American forces should leave Iraq “as soon as possible,” and preferably on the 16-month timeline proposed by Obama, was just what the messiah ordered — effectively tossing McCain under one of those metaphorical buses the 2008 campaign seems to produce by the fleet. Now, let me be clear about my biases. I have been a supporter of the surge but not an enthusiastic one. I’ve always thought it necessary but insufficient in...

In a stunning upset, Barack Obama this week won the Iraq primary. When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not once but several times expressed support for a U.S. troop withdrawal on a timetable that accorded roughly with Obama's 16-month proposal, he not only legitimized the plan. He relieved Obama of a major political liability by blunting the charge that, in order to appease the MoveOn left, Obama was willing to jeopardize the astonishing success of the surge and risk losing a war that is finally being won. Maliki's endorsement left the McCain campaign and the Bush administration deeply discomfited. They underestimated...

Rome, 23 July (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI will meet Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki on Friday for the first time during his official visit to Italy. Al-Maliki is due to arrive in Rome on Thursday to meet his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi on the second leg of his European visit after talks with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin on Tuesday. The Iraqi prime minister will meet the Pope at the pontiff's summer residence at Castelgandolfo, outside Rome. He will then hold separate talks with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state. Iraq is home to the Chaldean...

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama got more than he bargained for from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki barely after his military crash course in the Middle East's war zones began. The freshman senator, making only his second trip to Iraq in two years, after a quick tutorial visit to Afghanistan (his first), got a well-timed campaign gift from Maliki, who embraced his plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops 16 months after taking office. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Maliki refused to take sides in the race, but, when asked about Obama's pullout timeline, he said, "Whoever is...

It's usually a bad idea for one democratic country to meddle in another democratic country's election. But the boost Prime Minister Maliki of Iraq just gave to Senator Obama in the American campaign has to be one of the most stunning pieces of political nerve in memory. It could have been a disastrous visit by the Democrat to Baghdad. Mr. Maliki could have left his meeting with Mr. Obama and said, "If America does what Mr. Obama wants and announces to our enemies when it will leave Iraq, Al Qaeda will regain the ground it has lost here, my country...

BAGHDAD, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama did not raise his plan to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months in his talks on Monday with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government's spokesman said. "This issue, we do not discuss ... ," spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters when asked if Obama had brought up the 16-month timeframe.

The statement by an aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki calling his remarks in Der Spiegel "misinterpreted and mistranslated" followed a call to the prime minister's office from U.S. government officials in Iraq. Maliki had expressed support for a withdrawal plan similar to that of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in an interview with Der Speigel. U.S. troops should leave Iraq "As soon as possible, as far as we're concerned," Maliki had said. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight...

BAGHDAD, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki denied that he has released statements backing a plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama which sets a timeframe for possible U.S. troops withdrawal from Iraq, the government's spokesman said on Sunday. Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's statements to German magazine Der Spiegel "have been misunderstood and mistranslated and were not conveyed accurately regarding the vision of Senator Barack Obama on the timeframe for U.S. forces withdrawal from Iraq."

Headlines: Maliki backs Obama's exit plan Obama Campaign Welcomes Maliki Support for TimetableWhite House sends press corps al-Maliki praise for Obama planIraqi PM says US should leave as soon as possibleMaliki Doesn't Endorse Obama Troop Withdrawal Plan (Update1)Iraqi Prime Minister backs plan to withdraw British and US troops ...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki did not back the plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and his comments to a German magazine on the issue were misunderstood, the government's spokesman said on Sunday. Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's remarks to Der Spiegel were translated incorrectly. The German magazine said on Saturday that Maliki supported Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. The interview was released on Saturday. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right time...

The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined "Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine." The story relayed how Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the German magazine Der Spiegel that "he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months … ‘U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,'" the prime minister said. The White House employee had intended to send the...

A German magazine quoted Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as saying that he backed a proposal by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months. Nuri al-Maliki told Der Spiegel that he favors a "limited" tenure for coalition troops in Iraq. Nuri al-Maliki told Der Spiegel that he favors a "limited" tenure for coalition troops in Iraq. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months," he said in an interview with Der Spiegel that was released Saturday. "That, we think, would be the right time frame for a withdrawal, with the...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a German magazine that he supports Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. The apparent endorsement of a cornerstone of Obama’s foreign policy drew swift praise from the Obama camp. But the White House stressed that any timelines are contingent on “security gains” in the region. “U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes,” al-Maliki told the magazine Der Spiegel. He said he wants U.S. troops to leave...

ARLINGTON, Va., July 19 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today, McCain 2008 Senior Foreign Policy Advisor Randy Scheunemann issued the following statement: "The difference between John McCain and Barack Obama is that Barack Obama advocates an unconditional withdrawal that ignores the facts on the ground and the advice of our top military commanders. John McCain believes withdrawal must be based on conditions on the ground. Prime Minister Maliki has repeatedly affirmed the same view, and did so again today. Timing is not as important as whether we leave with victory and honor, which is of no apparent concern to Barack Obama. The...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months. In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

Iraq said for the first time today that it wanted to set a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from its territory. US President George Bush has long resisted any set schedule for pulling his 145,000 soldiers out of Iraq, arguing that it would play into the hands of insurgents. But an emboldened Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister who last week boasted he had crushed terrorism in Iraq, suggested it was time to start setting timelines. “The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or a...

The Shiite government signals a desire for an alliance with the United States. Shouldn't that be welcomed?THOUGH IT was hardly noticed in Washington, Iraq's Shiite-led government sent a powerful message to Iran and to the Middle East last week. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose coalition is often portrayed as an Iranian client, traveled to Tehran for a meeting with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ayatollah bluntly declared that Iraq's "most important problem" was the continuing presence of U.S. troops. He pressured Mr. Maliki to stop negotiating a package of agreements with the Bush administration that would delineate a "strategic...

America is very close to succeeding in Iraq. The "near-strategic defeat" of al Qaeda in Iraq described by CIA Director Michael Hayden last month in the Washington Post has been followed by the victory of the Iraqi government's security forces over illegal Shiite militias, including Iranian-backed Special Groups. The enemies of Iraq and America now cling desperately to their last bastions, while the political process builds momentum. These tremendous gains remain fragile and could be lost to skillful enemy action, or errors in Baghdad or Washington. But where the U.S. was unequivocally losing in Iraq at the end of 2006,...

Iraqi soldiers have begun evacuating families from portions of Sadr City, a sign that a large offensive will start shortly against the Mahdi Army militia that have long controlled the sector of Baghdad. Two stadiums have been secured for sheltering the evacuees as the government of Nouri al-Maliki attempts to break Moqtada al-Sadr’s last stronghold and end mortar attacks on the Green Zone. Maliki also wants to end Iran’s influence in Iraq, which caused Iran to cut off security talks with Maliki and the US:

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must have Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other cut-and-run liberal members of the U.S. Congress as his military advisors. What else explains his dismal performance in Basra, where he retreated from his raids against Shiite militants after anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr merely hinted retaliation if Iraqi security forces continued to arrest his many followers? Before his assault on the city, al-Maliki issued an “ultimatum” to Shiite militias to disarm. “Any gunman who does not do that will be an outlaw,” he said. Shortly after, he softened his rhetoric and offered money to militants who turned...

BASRA, Iraq (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is promising to pursue his fight against Shiite militias in Basra to "the end." Al-Maliki made his pledge to Basra area tribal leaders Thursday as military operations against the militias continued for a fourth day despite stiff resistance. Al-Maliki told the leaders "we have made up our minds" to enter the fight "and we will continue until the end. No retreat." Tens of thousands of Shiites took to Baghdad's streets to protest the government crackdown on militias.

Amid heavy clashes between government forces and Shiite Muslim militants in Baghdad and the southern port city of Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki issued an ultimatum Wednesday demanding that the militias surrender their weapons within 72 hours. Radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr , whose Mahdi Army militia is a prime target of the government offensive, responded by demanding that Maliki leave Basra. U.S. forces joined Iraqi troops in Baghdad to fight Mahdi Army militants, and police said that at least 20 people had been killed in the Sadr City neighborhood, a stronghold for Sadr's backers. The city's fortified...

Greetings Jim, Today is the one year anniversary of the launch of operation 'Rule of Law' or the ‘Surge’ as we know it. Iraqis are celebrating all over Iraq and especially in Baghdad for this occasion. Military parades were held in Baghdad with a commemorative laying of flower wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier. What a difference a year makes! This was possible thanks to all of the effort and sacrifices of our men and women and the efforts and sacrifices of the Iraqis, who trust our military and their military more than their own government (this a...

US President George W. Bush on Wednesday offered prayers and disaster relief to the victims of dozens of tornadoes that killed at least 48 people and injured hundreds more in southern US states. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and US President George W. Bush held talks on Wednesday via video link-up about the future relationship between their countries, Maliki's office said. President Bush attended and spoke at the ceremonial swearing in of Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer. REMARKS President Bush welcomed Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks to the White House East Room. REMARKS US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived...

Reconciliation in Iraq: Don't Hold Your Breath By Colonel Norvell B. DeAtkine, U.S. Army (Retired) The war-torn nation is a victim of its tortured history. The word "reconciliation" has become a synonym for success in Iraq. It was enshrined as the centerpiece of the 18 benchmarks imposed on the Iraqi government by domestic American political pressures, presumably to have some measure of success or failure in an unpopular conflict. The concept as enunciated in the troop surge was that the calming of Baghdad would give the Iraqi politicians time to work out the differences between the various sectarian demands. The...

Virtually everywhere you look these days in Iraq, the signs are of a country slowly hauling its way back from the precipice of self-destruction. It is not only the successful return of Basra, the last of the four Iraqi provinces under British control, to the local authorities that gives cause for optimism, although that event could have a profound effect in helping Iraq return to something approaching normality. By far the most impressive part of the hand-over ceremony, which, fittingly, took place in the disused departure lounge of the former Saddam Hussein international airport, was the appeal made by the...

WASHINGTON: The White House announced Monday that it had reached a deal with the Iraqi government to negotiate a formal agreement defining long-term relations between the two nations, including the legal status of American military forces remaining in Iraq. The "Declaration of Principles" signed Monday via video link by President George W. Bush and the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, does not specify the eventual number of American troops nor the length of their deployment. That issue is certain to be central in the 2008 presidential campaign that will be under way as American and Iraqi negotiators work toward...

Iraq's most influential Shiite politician said Sunday that the U.S had not backed up claims that Iran is fueling violence here, underscoring a wide gap on the issue between Washington and the Shiite-led Baghdad government. A draft bill to ease curbs on ex-Saddam Hussein loyalists in government services also drew sharp criticism from Shiite lawmakers, opening old wounds at a time when the United States is pressing the Iraqis for compromise for the sake of national unity. The Americans have long accused the Iranians of arming and training Shiite militias, including some linked to the U.S.-backed government of Shiite Prime...

Justin Logan is a foreign policy analyst a member of the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy. Former White House chief of staff Andrew Card famously remarked that the reason the White House ramped up the case for the Iraq War in September was that "from a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." To judge from recent developments, Americans may look back on August 2007 as the month the country again turned toward war—with Iran. The same network of think-tank analysts, media outlets, and government officials who brayed for war in Iraq have set their...

BAGHDAD, (AP) -- American convoys under the protection of Blackwater USA resumed on Friday, four days after the U.S. Embassy suspended all land travel by its diplomats and other civilian officials in response to the alleged killing of civilians by the security firm. A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had earlier conceded it may prove difficult for the Iraqi government to follow through on threats to expel Blackwater and other Western security contractors. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into Sunday's incident was ongoing, said a way out of the Blackwater crisis could...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday his government had made progress on all fronts and urged neighboring countries to work together to stop what he called "evil" from destabilizing the region. Maliki was speaking a day before top U.S. officials in Iraq deliver a long-awaited assessment to the Democrat-controlled Congress on President George W. Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra soldiers to Iraq. The reports by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker could influence any decision Bush takes on troop numbers amid demands from Democrats and some Republicans...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made a serious step towards national unity at a time when Paris and Washington showered him with criticism. At a news conference in Baghdad on August 26, he announced that at a joint meeting representatives of the Iraqi Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds had reached agreement on a number of issues, which were crucial for the restoration of political stability, such as amnesty of political prisoners, elections to local and provincial governments, a bill on redistribution of oil profits and, last but not the least, abolition of the ban on jobs for the former Baath party...

France calls for new Iraq prime minister By Peter Allen in Paris Last Updated: 1:16am BST 27/08/2007 France's foreign minister risked fracturing his country's new relationship with America yesterday, by calling for Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to be replaced. Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister In an interview published in the American magazine Newsweek, Bernard Kouchner, who visited Baghdad last week, said: "I just had (Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State) on the phone 10 or 15 minutes ago, and I told her, 'Listen, he's got to be replaced'. "Many people believe the prime minister ought to...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's top Shi'ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key measures seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation.The agreement by the five leaders was one of the most significant political developments in Iraq for months and was quickly welcomed by the United States, which hopes such moves will ease sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands.But skeptics will be watching for action amid growing frustration in Washington over the political paralysis that has gripped the government of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore congratulated Iraq's...

BAGHDAD (AP) - There are some stern words from Iraq's prime minister today for two prominent U.S. Democrats. Nouri al-Maliki says Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, quote, need to "come to their senses." Both have called for his ouster, saying al-Maliki's government has failed to meet basic goals for unifying and securing Iraq. Clinton is running for president. Levin heads the Senate Armed Services Committee. Al-Maliki is fighting to hold his government together. And he used a news conference in Baghdad today to blast his critics, mentioning Clinton and Levin in particular. He said they are examples of American...

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's beleaguered prime minister on Sunday lashed out at American critics who have called for his ouster, saying Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Carl Levin need to "come to their senses." Nouri al-Maliki, who is fighting to hold his government together, issued a series of stinging ripostes against a variety of foreign officials who recently have spoken negatively about his leadership. But those directed at Democrats Clinton, of New York, and Levin, of Michigan, were most strident. "There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hit back on Sunday at Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton and other U.S. critics who have called for him to be replaced, telling them "to come to their senses." Maliki is under mounting pressure from officials in Washington to show political progress towards reconciling his majority Shi'ite Muslim sect and minority Sunni Arabs. U.S. officials are frustrated by the negligible progress so far. Clinton and fellow Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, have called for Maliki to be voted out because of his failure to find a...

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- A powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, CNN has confirmed. A report by the U.S. intelligence community questions Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ability to govern. This comes as President Bush is publicly taking great pains to reiterate his support for the embattled Iraqi leader. Al-Maliki's government has come under sharp criticism and scrutiny from Washington lawmakers and officials, as reflected in Thursday's National Intelligence Estimate. A senior Bush administration official told CNN the White House...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Bush, scrambling to show he has not abandoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, offered a fresh endorsement today. "Prime Minister Maliki's a good guy, good man with a difficult job and I support him," Bush said in a speech to military veterans. "And it's not up to the politicians in Washington, D.C., to say whether he will remain in his position," Bush said. "It is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy and not a dictatorship." The president's comment was intended to dispel the impression he left on Tuesday that he...

Clinton urges ouster of Iraq's al-Maliki By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the Iraqi Parliament should replace embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a "less divisive and more unifying figure" to reconcile political and religious factions. Clinton, the 2008 Democratic presidential front-runner, made her comments the same day President Bush reaffirmed his support for al-Maliki before a veterans' convention in Kansas City, Mo. In a statement released by her Senate office, Clinton echoed a call by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin for Iraq's Parliament to oust al-Maliki in favor of...

al-Maliki [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Hillary's calling for his resignation, according to CNN.