U.S. To Iraq: Hurry It Up, Already!

McCain and Feingold team up again for the forces of good!

This time, it's to encourage Iraqis to work past the divisions tearing their country apart...

AP: Senators to Iraqis: U.S. Losing Patience

As a gunbattle raged south of Baghdad, Sens. John McCain and Russell Feingold told Iraqi leaders Saturday that American patience was growing thin and they needed to urgently overcome their stalemate and form a national unity government.

It was the second high-level U.S. delegation in less than a week delivering the same stark message to Iraqi politicians as the Bush administration steps up pressure to overcome the political impasse that threatens to scuttle hopes to start an American troop pullout this summer.

"We need very badly to form this unity government as soon as possible," McCain, R-Ariz., said at a news conference after meetings with President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. "We all know the polls show declining support among the American people."...

...Feingold, of Wisconsin and the ranking Democrat in the U.S. delegation joined McCain in pressing for the quick formation of a government, but he spoke bluntly of his concern that the continued presence of American forces was prolonging the conflict.

"It's the reality of a situation like this that when you have a large troop presence that it has the tendency to fuel the insurgency because they can make the incorrect and unfair claim that somehow the United States is here to occupy this country, which of course is not true," Feingold said...

I wish it weren't true, Russ, but all the base-building suggests otherwise.

Still, it's good to put some pressure on the Iraqis, we need to get out of there as soon as possible. I'm not sure how much of this delegation work is purely political (ie. everyone in DC wants the situation improved as midterm elections approach) and how much is the White House realizing what they should have three years ago... that our diplomatic efforts are just as needed there as our military ones.

[PS- This likely won't please the Iraqis either, though:
U.S.: Iraq on own to rebuild ]