President Barack Obama came under pressure from U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to persuade Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to step down over what they see as his failed leadership in the face of an insurgency threatening his country. As Obama held an hour-long meeting with congressional leaders on U.S. options in Iraq, administration officials joined a chorus of criticism of Maliki, faulting him for failing to heal sectarian rifts that militants have exploited. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional hearing that Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government had asked for U.S. air power to help counter Sunni militants who have overrun northern Iraq. The general did not say whether Washington would meet the request. But Dempsey signaled that the U.S. military – apparently much like Obama – was in no rush to launch air strikes in Iraq, citing the […]