Maliki government 'on borrowed time'

Baghdad: US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said some Iraqi leaders had miscalculated, thinking US support would go on unconditionally, but now they realise the patience of the American people is running out.

In an interview with CNN broadcast on Friday, Khalilzad echoed comments by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who said Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government was living "on borrowed time".

Khalilzad said Al Maliki realised diplomacy had not succeeded in dismantling militias and it was time for action.

US President George W. Bush said he planned to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq.

US lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled Congress hammered Bush's plan to send more troops, and many in Iraq questioned how much difference they can make. But Khalilzad said this time the Iraqi government was ready to take decisive action.

"The President has been very resolute from the get go [from the start] and some people here have miscalculated perhaps, thinking no matter what they do or do not do support would go on because of the rock solid stand the President has taken," Khalilzad told CNN.

"The President has sent a very good strong message that the patience of the American people is running out."

Washington has identified the Mehdi Army, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, as the greatest threat to security in Iraq.

Asked if this time Al Maliki would really go after the Mehdi Army, a key demand of Washington and the Sunni Arab minority who blame the militias for operating death squads, Khalilzad said: "He has pledged this to the President of the United States, there would be no sanctuary. He has said to me that he has given diplomacy a chance with the militias, now we have to do whatever is necessary to get the job done."