Aug 21, 2007 1:01 pm US/Eastern
Bush: Future of Iraqi Leader In Iraqi Hands
The President Shares Frustration With Prime Minister al-Maliki
MONTEBELLO, Quebec (AP) ―
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President Bush acknowledged frustration with the troubled government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday but said it's up to the Iraqi people to decide whether to continue supporting him. (File)
AP
President Bush acknowledged frustration with the troubled government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday but said it's up to the Iraqi people to decide whether to continue supporting him.
Stopping short of offering an endorsement, Bush said it was not up to the United States to give a verdict on al-Maliki's government.
"The fundamental question is, will the government respond to the demands of the people," the president said. "And if the government ... doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace the government. That's up to the Iraqis to make that decision, not American politicians."
Bush was asked about the situation in Iraq at a news conference where he joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon in wrapping up a North American summit.
A day earlier, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged the Iraqi assembly to oust U.S.-backed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and replace his government with one that is less sectarian and more unifying.
"The Iraqis will decide," Bush insisted. "They have decided they want a constitution. They have elected members to their parliament and they will make the decisions just like democracies do."
Bush encouraged more patience with the Iraqi government. He said there was change at the grass roots level in Iraq, with citizens "beginning to reject the extremists."
Early next month, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, are to report to Congress and the president about the impact of the troop buildup that Bush ordered in January. Their report will provide the basis for Bush's decisions about the way forward in Iraq in terms of troop levels and tactics.
While the Iraqi parliament has recessed for the month of August, the president said that lawmakers already had passed 60 pieces of legislation — although not laws dealing with sharing oil revenue or setting the groundwork for provincial elections.
Levin, after a trip to Iraq and Jordan, said there is broad frustration with the lack of action by the al-Maliki government.
Separately, Levin issued a pessimistic statement Monday on Iraq with Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a former Armed Services Committee chairman and influential voice on military affairs. The lawmakers said Bush's military buildup in Iraq had "produced some credible and positive results," but that the political outlook was darker.
The senators said that during their visit to Iraq last week 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."
Over the last year, Bush has made a linguistic shift on al-Maliki. When they met in Jordan last November, the president called al-Maliki "the right guy for Iraq."
More recently, however, Bush has taken more of a wait-and-see approach, saying that what matters is whether al-Maliki performs.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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