US raises pressure on Iraq's leader

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must show greater political progress to satisfy Washington.

from the May 10, 2007 edition

Reporters on the job: Howard LaFranchi shares the story behind the story.

Melanie Stetson Freeman – Staff/File

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BAGHDAD - As Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces intense pressure to assert political control, the sectarian divides that have prevented rivals from challenging his leadership are also stymieing the progress that many Iraqis say is crucial if Mr. Maliki wants to keep his job.

The key to his survival may be whether Maliki – an official in Iraq's second-largest Shiite party before he emerged as prime minister in April 2006 – can change stripes and become a truly national leader who satisfies Washington's demands as well as those of a vocal Sunni political opposition and a war-weary public.

The coming weeks will be key: The US is pressing hard for results and Iraqis face a hot summer of perhaps the worst conditions in the post-Hussein era. Meanwhile, parliament shows few signs of moving on legislation deemed crucial for national reconciliation and quelling the insurgency.

To keep up pressure, Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Baghdad Wednesday, meeting with Iraqi officials and US military commander Gen. David Petraeus. Mr. Cheney acknowledged difficulties on the ground but told Maliki that the months ahead demand "enormous effort" from both the US and Iraq.

Maliki's supporters say he's stronger than critics suggest and predict he will unveil a "new action plan" within days with broad-based support to reassert his leadership. Also, his recent high-profile meetings with leaders from other factions, like Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on Tuesday, are moves in that direction, they say.

"In the coming days you will see a new plan, including new security measures, based on the government's extension of its dialogue to Iraqis outside power," says Ali Aladeeb, a member of parliament and a senior leader in Maliki's Dawa Party. That "reaching out to all groups" includes "serious negotiations with the insurgent groups," Mr. Aladeeb says.

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