The White House is making a last-ditch effort to urge Iraqi politicians to create a working government before the US drawdown in August leaves the country with just 50,000 US soldiers, the
Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The Iraqi government is currently deadlocked, headed by caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki's Shi'ite bloc received the second-most votes in the last election, behind former premier Ayad Allawi's Sunni faction.
US officials said the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved until after the month of Ramadan, which starts August 10th and lasts a full month, according to the
Wall Street Journal.
The US will remove 30,000 troops from Iraq by the end of August, leaving the country with 50,000 from a peak of 171,000 in 2007.
The transition comes as July marks the worst death toll the country has faced in two years, according to the
Wall Street Journal.
