New prime minister vows to quickly build government

The prime minister has 30 days to assemble a Cabinet.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The Shiite hard-liner tapped as Iraq's new prime minister promised Saturday to swiftly finish building a unity government after parliament elected a top national leadership, ending months of political deadlock as the nation spiraled into chaos.
Jawad al-Maliki has 30 days to assemble a Cabinet from divided Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties. The most contentious question will be filling key ministries that control security forces amid demands to purge them of militias blamed for the rise in sectarian bloodshed.
Five American soldiers died Saturday in roadside bombings south of Baghdad, and Marines killed four insurgents in a gunbattle in Ramadi -- clear signs of the ongoing security crisis.
After repeated delays, parliament convened Saturday in the heavily guarded Green Zone and elected a president, two vice presidents, a parliament speaker and two deputies.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who won a second term, named al-Maliki as prime minister-designate, a formality after the dominant Shiite bloc replaced outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Sunnis and Kurds refused to accept al-Jaafari.
That laid the foundation for post-Saddam Hussein Iraq's first fully constitutional government, which Washington hopes can quell the Sunni-led insurgency and bloody Shiite-Sunni violence. That would enable the United States to begin withdrawing its 133,000 troops.
Much work ahead
Few believe the task will be easy. It remains uncertain whether Iraqi leaders representing religiously and ethnically based parties can set aside their interests and rise to the challenge of managing a nation perched at the brink of disaster.
President Bush suggested the new Iraqi government could be the beginning of an eventual drawdown of American forces from Iraq.
"The new Iraqi government will assume greater responsibility for their nation's security," he told reporters during a trip to California. "It will have the popular mandate to address Iraq's toughest long-term challenges," he added.
"This historic achievement by determined Iraqis will make America more secure," Bush said.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a key player in tortuous political negotiations since Dec. 15 elections, told reporters improvement will not be instantaneous.
"I think that with the formation of a national unity government with a good program and with competent ministers, Iraq will be on the right trajectory," he said.
The tough-talking al-Maliki, who once managed Shiite guerrillas in Saddam's Iraq from exile in Syria, promised an inclusive government with "all components of Iraqi society."
Al-Maliki, 55, also signaled he was prepared to crack down on Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias responsible for the rise in sectarian violence that threatens to plunge the nation into civil war.
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