Political Tensions Grow as Iraqis Fail to Agree on a Government

06 August 2010

A member of the new Iraqi parliament speaks on the phone in June

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Iraqis elected a new parliament in March. There was no clear winner. And five months later there is still no agreement on a coalition government.

On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council called on the politicians to settle their differences. It urged them to form "as quickly as possible, a government that is inclusive and represents the will of the Iraqi people."

The top United Nations diplomat in Iraq says the delays are creating conditions that opponents of democracy could use for their own gain. Ad Melkert told the Security Council that the delays affect the rebuilding of basic services in Iraq. He said Iraqis average about nine hours a day without electric power.

President Obama talked about Iraq in a speech Monday to the Disabled American Veterans Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

BARACK OBAMA: "Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition to full Iraqi responsibility. And I made it clear that by August thirty-first, two thousand ten, America's combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing, as promised, on schedule."

The president said American forces have already closed or turned over hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. By the end of this month, he said, the United States will have brought home more than ninety thousand troops.