Iraqi Gunmen Kill Baby, 6 Others in Home

A young boy peers into a bus in east Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007. The bus struck a roadside bomb, killing two and wounding 14. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) (Hadi Mizban - AP)

He echoed Bush's frustration with the lack of action by al-Maliki government's on key legislative measures.

"Progress on national level issues has been extremely disappointing and frustrating to all concerned _ to us, to Iraqis, to the Iraqi leadership itself," Crocker said. But he added that the Shiite prime minister was working "in the shadow of a huge national trauma."

While saying U.S. support was not a "blank check," Crocker said Washington would continue backing al-Maliki's government "as it makes serious efforts to achieve national reconciliation and deliver effective governance to the people of Iraq." He stressed that it's not just al-Maliki, but "the whole government that has to perform here."

Crocker acknowledged "a lot of violence" in southern Iraq, where bombers killed Muthana province Gov. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani on Monday and Gov. Khalil Jalil Hamza in neighboring Qadasiyah province nine days earlier.

Both governors were members the Shiite political powerhouse, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, led by Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. His loyalists dominate police in Iraq's south and are fighting Mahdi Army militiamen for dominance in the region, which may hold 70 percent or more of Iraq's oil reserves, according to various estimates.

Al-Sadr issued a statement late Monday condemning the attacks on the governors, which he said were aimed at creating a rift among Iraq's majority Islamic sect.

Al-Sadr also renewed his demand that al-Maliki set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign troops. He pulled his five ministers out of the Cabinet in April over that issue.

Closing out a three-day visit to Baghdad, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the United States could not bring peace to Iraq without help. He said Iraqi leaders expressed hope France would play a role.

Kouchner's unannounced trip was seen as a shift in U.S.-French relations and was the first visit by a top French official since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, which France fiercely opposed.

"It was necessary to be here," Kouchner said. "Everyone knows that the Americans cannot bring this country out of difficulty all alone."

Al-Maliki met with Kouchner late Sunday before he left for Syria, where the Iraqi leader met with President Bashar Assad on Tuesday. Al-Maliki described the talks as positive, stressing the necessity of good relations between Baghdad and Damascus.

Assad said he wanted to see calm restored in Iraq. "We want this visit to be a success and we are interested in stabilizing Iraq and improving its situation," he told al-Maliki.

Syria said this month that it had moved to increase security along its border with Iraq, including setting up fixed checkpoints, boosting patrols and tightening rules on crossings by people under age 30.

Iraq and the U.S. have long complained that Assad was not doing enough to prevent the flow of foreign fighters to join the Iraqi insurgency.