Iraqi PM Lashes Out at U.S. Critics

In this image released by the Iraqi government, Syria's President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Damascus, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007. Al-Maliki and Assad said in a meeting Tuesday during the embattled Iraqi leader's first official visit here that despite their differences, both are interested in stabilizing Iraq. Al-Maliki's three-day sojourn in Syria comes as part of his efforts to seek neighbors' help in stemming the violence ravaging Iraq. ((AP Photo/Iraqi Government) (Iraqi Government - AP)

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Iraq's prime minister lashed out Wednesday at U.S. criticism, saying no one has the right to impose timetables on his elected government and that his country "can find friends elsewhere."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed the U.S. presidential campaign for the recent tough words about his government _ from President Bush and from other U.S. politicians.

Bush on Tuesday said he was frustrated with Iraqi leaders' inability to bridge political divisions. But he added that only the Iraqi people can decide whether to sideline al-Maliki.

"Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more," Bush said. "I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to work _ come together to get, for example, an oil revenue law passed or provincial elections."

On Wednesday, however, Bush scrambled to show he had not abandoned al-Maliki, wary of how his comments the day before had been widely interpreted.

"Prime Minister Maliki's a good guy, good man with a difficult job and I support him," Bush said in a speech to military veterans.

"And it's not up to the politicians in Washington, D.C., to say whether he will remain in his position," Bush said. "It is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy and not a dictatorship."

Al-Maliki, on a trip to Syria, reacted harshly when asked about the earlier comments from U.S. officials.

"No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people," he said at a news conference in Damascus at the end of the three-day visit to Syria.

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

Without naming any American official, al-Maliki said some of the criticism of him and his government had been "discourteous."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Monday that al-Maliki, a Shiite, should be ousted and replaced with a less-sectarian leader.