Top US officials turned on Iraq’s leader, blaming his “sectarian” policies for the country’s crisis as Washington today weighed calls for air strikes on Sunni militants bearing down on Baghdad.
The sharp criticism of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki came as he scrambled to repel an insurgent onslaught that has seen an entire province and parts of three others fall out of government control in an offensive that could threaten Iraq’s very existence.