Al Maliki

As pressure built up for Nouri al Maliki to step down from the prime minister post in Iraq last month, Iran, his most ardent supporter stayed surprisingly silent as top Iranian officials worked to get him out.

State television is working overtime to persuade Iraqis to help Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki confront an al Qaeda offshoot that has seized wide tracts of the country, but its unifying call has been blunted by his sectarian reputation.

The United States on Thursday threw its weight behind the newly elected president of Iraq, Fuad Masum, and urged him to form a "cohesive government" to help fight Islamic militants.

U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned top government officials that Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his policies were gravely antagonizing his country's Sunni population, two U.S. security officials said on Friday.

The Obama administration is considering expanding its support to Iraqi forces as they fight off a renewed al Qaeda threat, but Washington's ability to significantly increase security assistance to Baghdad will remain limited.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki arrived in New Delhi today on a four-day state visit, the first high-level bilateral trip between the two countries in 38 years.

As pressure built up for Nouri al Maliki to step down from the prime minister post in Iraq last month, Iran, his most ardent supporter stayed surprisingly silent as top Iranian officials worked to get him out.

State television is working overtime to persuade Iraqis to help Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki confront an al Qaeda offshoot that has seized wide tracts of the country, but its unifying call has been blunted by his sectarian reputation.

The United States on Thursday threw its weight behind the newly elected president of Iraq, Fuad Masum, and urged him to form a "cohesive government" to help fight Islamic militants.

U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned top government officials that Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his policies were gravely antagonizing his country's Sunni population, two U.S. security officials said on Friday.

The Obama administration is considering expanding its support to Iraqi forces as they fight off a renewed al Qaeda threat, but Washington's ability to significantly increase security assistance to Baghdad will remain limited.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki arrived in New Delhi today on a four-day state visit, the first high-level bilateral trip between the two countries in 38 years.