Iraqi president tries to save government

Iraq's Kurdish president was fighting Tuesday to save the Shiite-dominated government from possible collapse, wheedling key Sunni Arab politicians to set aside threats to quit the Cabinet and counseling the prime minister to "seriously consider" their demands.

President Jalal Talabani also warned of "negative consequences" if the six Cabinet ministers from the Iraqi Accordance Front leave Nouri al-Maliki's 14-month-old government.

He did not elaborate, but the withdrawal of the Accordance Front's ministers could erase the government's "national unity" status and diminish its legitimacy _ a serious blow at a time when it needs to move swiftly on legislation the United States considers critical to the reconciliation of Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish factions.

The Sunni threat was only the most recent challenge for the tough-talking al-Maliki, the Shiite prime minister.

In April, five Cabinet ministers loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr quit in protest of al-Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal. Those ministers have not been replaced.

Al-Maliki also has failed to improve security in many parts of Iraq, provide adequate services or combat crime and unemployment. His critics, particularly the Sunni Arabs, have often criticized him for sectarian bias, a charge he denies.

The Accordance Front last week suspended its Cabinet membership and said it would quit by Wednesday if al-Maliki did not meet its demands: to disband militias, pardon security detainees not charged with specific crimes and include all coalition partners in security decisions.

Al-Maliki's government said the Front was trying to blackmail him and that its members had contributed to some of the policy failures they now criticized.

Talabani has said the demands were "mostly fair," acknowledged there were government failures but criticized the Front for publicizing its rift with al-Maliki.

Talabani, a veteran politician, has been consumed with trying to defuse the crisis through a series of meetings.

He has attempted to lure Tariq al-Hashemi, his Sunni Arab deputy and a leading member of the Accordance Front, away from his hardline partners in the Front to join a new "Alliance of the Moderates." The proposed alliance is expected to include the two largest Shiite parties, the two main Kurdish parties as well as independent Shiites.

Al-Hashemi appeared to have somewhat softened his hardline stand on the rift with al-Maliki, suggesting Tuesday that there was still a chance that a walkout by the Accordance Front could be avoided.

"We await the results of meetings being held today. If there is hope, then President Talabani will try and resolve the issue," al-Hashemi was quoted as saying after meeting Talabani and Shiite Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the other vice president.