Iraq PM will press U.S. officials for cease-fire when he visits Washington

[bigtree]

Iraq PM Says Will Urge US To Push For Lebanon Cease-Fire

BAGHDAD (AP)--Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday he will urge U.S. officials to work for a cease-fire in Lebanon when he visits Washington soon, saying Israel's "hostile acts" will adversely affect the entire Middle East.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite activist who spent years in exile in Syria, is expected to meet President George W. Bush at the White House this coming week. Security in Iraq is expected to top the agenda after an increasing series of attacks in the Baghdad area.

But al-Maliki, who has been among the most vocal Arab leaders against the Israeli assault, also said he would raise the issue of Israel's operations in Lebanon. Last week, Israel launched a major military campaign in Lebanon, destroying much of the country's infrastructure, after the militant Shiite Hezbollah group captured two Israeli soldiers.

Lebanese officials have said that more than 300 civilians have been killed.

"The hostile acts against Lebanon will have effects on the region and we are not far from what is going on in Lebanon," al-Maliki said. "We will speak with the United Nations and American government to call for a cease-fire quickly."

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/cgi/NGoto/152335181?-16532

[rodeodance]

1. what about a cease fire in his own country?

[babylonsister]

2. Heard this a.m. on Tweety's weekly show: Maliki is this close

to claiming all is lost in Iraq. He's a heavy hitter over there. If Maliki says that, the US is sunk.
Said by journalist David Ignatius.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. Bush will deny that Iraq is a failed mission, no matter what the PM says

They will dismiss his remarks as inaccurate and uninformed.

[madrchsod]

4. ya right...like bush gives a shit what this guy thinks

this guy is living on borrowed time in iraq and as soon as he is gone the whitehouse will find another stoodge

[bemildred]

5. "Hey, we need the bullets in Iraq." nt