Calls for Al-Maliki to step down amid Iraqi conflict

Calls for Al-Maliki to step down amid Iraqi conflict
Calls for Al-Maliki to step down amid Iraqi conflict

Calls for Al-Maliki to step down amid Iraqi conflict

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President Obama is weighing the U.S. response to the growing insurgency in Iraq. Powerful critics, both in Washington and the Arab States, say they want Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to step aside for the sake of peace. Reports have unidentified sources at the White House stating that al-Maliki is not the person who can unify the warring factions. These officials, and Arab diplomats, want al-Maliki’s resignation as a precondition to U.S. airstrikes against Sunni insurgents, along with a political transition to a new government that would include, Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties. We’ll talk about the political upheaval and President Obama’s statement this morning with Helena Cobban, a Middle East analyst and publisher of the blog, Just World News. (photo: President Barack Obama talks about his administration’s response to a growing insurgency foothold in Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais))