THE US:The influential chairman of the US Senate armed forces committee has urged the Iraqi assembly to replace its prime minister with a government that is "less sectarian and more unifying".
Senator Carl Levin made his call for Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to be replaced, following a three-day trip to Iraq and Jordan. His statement was the most forceful call for leadership change in Iraq from an elected US official and comes ahead of a progress report next month from US military commander Gen David Petraeus and US ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Mr Levin said: "I hope the parliament will vote the Maliki government out of office and will have the wisdom to replace it with a less sectarian and more unifying prime minister and government."
A joint statement by Mr Levin, a Democrat, and Republican senator John Warner said that while the military build-up had "produced some credible and positive results," the political outlook was darker.
The senators said that during their visit to Iraq, they told Iraqi leaders of American impatience with the lack of political progress and "impressed upon them that time has run out in that regard". Mr Levin added that while there was broad frustration with the lack of action by the Maliki government, US officials could not dictate a change in leadership there.
White House national security council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Iraqi leaders had been holding talks in recent days on ways to move toward unifying their government.
"We urge them to come together, reach agreements and show the Iraqi people and the rest of the world their determination to create a stable and prosperous Iraq," he said.