Iraq's al-Maliki tells U.S. critics to "come to their senses"

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lashed out Sunday at U.S. politicians who have called on him to step down and accused U.S. forces of committing "big mistakes" in killing and detaining civilians in the hunt for insurgents.

It was the second outburst from the embattled leader in recent days as he has come under fire from an array of allies and adversaries who accuse him of failing to unite his Cabinet and put key laws and programs in place.

Al-Maliki trained his angriest words on presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and fellow Democrat Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan.

"There are American officials who consider Iraq as if it were one of their villages, for example Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin," he said. "They should come to their senses."

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, blasted his critics after meeting with Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi, Sunni leader and Vice President Tariq Hashimi, and the country's top two Kurdish leaders, President Jalal Talabani and Mahmoud Barzani, leader of autonomous Kurdistan. The five held talks on how to salvage the unity government following the pullout from the Cabinet of Sunni Arab members, as well as independents and some Shiites.

The leaders issued a statement saying they had found common ground on some of the main issues that have divided them, including constitutional revisions to allow regional power structures to emerge, reintegration of ousted members of Saddam Hussein's Baathist party and laws regulating oil, gas and water resources. Those issues are among 18 benchmarks the U.S. government has identified to measure Iraqi progress toward self-sufficiency.

However, the leaders provided few details and made clear after their Sunday meeting that much work remained to be done in getting such legislation through the fractured Parliament.

In Washington, two key Republicans, Sen. John Warner of Virginia and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, joined the chorus of criticism against al-Maliki.

"Everyone knows that the United States and its incredibly effective military have given this government four years, an opportunity to get their act together," McConnell said on Fox News. "By any objective standard, they haven't done it yet. They deserve to be criticized."

Warner, who last week called on President Bush to begin reducing the U.S. military presence in Iraq, warned he would consider backing Democratic proposals forcing a U.S. withdrawal if Bush does not set a timetable for doing so soon.

"I'm going to have to evaluate it," Warner said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I don't say that as a threat, but I say that is an option we all have to consider."

In Iraq, fighting broke out in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, when about 30 masked gunmen stormed a house where U.S. soldiers had established an observation post, according to U.S. spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly.

Iraqi officials said seven civilians, including five children, were killed in the gunbattle.

Elsewhere, a Kurdish security official said a U.S. helicopter attacked two Kurdish police outposts Sunday, killing four policemen and wounding eight. The U.S. military said it was investigating the report.

Jabar Yawer, spokesman for the Kurdish peshmerga militia, said two police vehicles also were destroyed in the airstrike 65 miles northeast of Baghdad and he believed the attack was "friendly fire."

Meanwhile, waves of Shiite pilgrims descended on Karbala on Sunday for a festival marking the birth of the 9th century Hidden Imam. A woman making the 50-mile journey from Baghdad was shot to death by men in a passing car southwest of the capital. Six men with her were wounded.