Maliki Scolds His American Critics
Government Defended as the Will of Iraqis; 14 U.S. Troops Die in Helicopter Crash

By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 23, 2007

BAGHDAD, Aug. 22 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday strongly rebuked American politicians for threatening to withdraw support from his government, suggesting while on a trip to Syria that he could "find friends elsewhere" if he was abandoned by the United States.

Facing widespread and growing American criticism that he has not pushed his government faster toward political reconciliation or engineered the passage of important legislation, Maliki defended his elected government as reflecting the will of the Iraqi people rather than the urgencies of presidential politics in the United States. He said the calls for his removal were "discourteous."

"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government," he said at a news conference, according to news service reports from Damascus. "It was elected by its people."

Maliki's self-defense came on another deadly day that underscored the heavy toll in lives the Iraq war continues to exact on Iraqis and Americans. A U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter crashed north of Baghdad, killing all 14 soldiers on board and contributing to the highest single-day death toll for Americans in seven months. In northern Iraq, a suicide truck bomber killed at least 20 people near a police station; one news agency put the death toll from that attack as high as 45.

With violence unrelenting, and an important American assessment on the progress of the current U.S. troop buildup less than a month away, the pressure on Iraqi leaders from American politicians and diplomats has become more intense. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, this week called Iraq's political progress disappointing and said American support for the current government was not a "blank check." Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for Maliki's outright removal, and President Bush, before reiterating his support for Maliki on Wednesday, had appeared to withhold that endorsement in a speech the day before.

"Those who make such statements are bothered by our visit to Syria," Maliki said. "We will pay no attention. We care for our people and our constitution and can find friends elsewhere."

Iraqi politicians close to Maliki described the recent criticisms as an insult to the prime minister, but they did not believe it meant a major change in U.S. involvement in Iraq.

"Honestly, this is a war for the most part in Washington rather than Baghdad," said Bassam Ridha, an adviser to the prime minister. "Obviously there's an agenda here. With the 2008 election coming up," he said, Democrats "want to use Iraq as a failure."

"We worry about our own affairs in Iraq. We have enough problems," Ridha added. "American politicians do not make or break our life here."

Among the most pressing concerns for the Iraqi government is the decision by both Shiite and Sunni lawmakers and cabinet ministers to boycott the government, further paralyzing an already dysfunctional political system. Maliki's many critics used the tense exchange between Maliki and the Americans to push for a new prime minister.

"We are the ones under pressure to accept Maliki for a while," Alaa Makki, a prominent Sunni lawmaker, said in a telephone interview from Jordan. "The American side is not pressing on Maliki; on the contrary, they are supporting Maliki against the political will in Iraq."

Bush reiterated his support for Maliki on Wednesday, calling him a "good man with a difficult job," a day after he expressed frustration with the pace of political reconciliation among rival Sunni and Shiite factions in Iraq. His comments came as fresh encouragement to some of Maliki's supporters.

The American critics should have more patience with the momentous tasks of quelling violence and achieving political compromise, said Hassan Sonaid, a Shiite lawmaker close to Maliki. "They want it to happen in one night and one day, and this is something not realistic," he said. "Everyone should understand that democracy means the people's opinion, and the Iraqi people are the only ones who can change the government of Maliki."

Meanwhile, the U.S. military suffered its deadliest helicopter crash since a January 2005 incident in which a Marine helicopter crashed during a sandstorm in the western desert, killing 31 people.

Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were flying back to base over rural terrain in northern Iraq early Wednesday, after a night mission, when one suffered what appeared to be a mechanical failure and went down, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a U.S. military spokesman in northern Iraq.

"The helicopter was not shot down; it was a mechanical malfunction, and that is based on a number of different facts and observations that we have to this point," Donnelly said. "For us, the most important thing is taking care of the families and the soldiers of the unit who are affected by this. We're all feeling a deep loss here."

Killed were the 14 troops aboard -- four crew members and 10 passengers, who were not identified Wednesday. Another U.S. soldier died, and three were wounded, in fighting Wednesday around villages between Baghdad and Fallujah. The 15 American fatalities represented the highest daily toll since January.

Also Wednesday morning, a truck loaded with explosives detonated outside a provincial education office and police station in the city of Baiji, north of Baghdad. At least 20 people died, including five policemen and six women, with 50 people wounded, police Capt. Hakim al-Azawi said.

"Furniture and glass started to fall over our heads, and large pieces of rock were falling on the building," said Raad al-Samaraei, 33, who was inside the government building at the time and suffered minor injuries.

"When the cloud of smoke went away, I saw a woman with a smashed head covered with blood inside my shop, and she was moaning," said Saif Mohammed, 23, who works near the education building. "I am still in a state of shock. I cannot imagine this happened. It was as a movie. It took only seconds but led to such horrible devastation."

Special correspondent Naseer Nouri in Baghdad and Mohanned Saif Aldin in Samarra contributed to this report.