WASHINGTON – The United States is preparing to send new aid to Iraq to help slow a violent insurgent march that is threatening to take over the nation’s north, officials said Wednesday. But the Obama administration offered only tepid support for Iraq’s beleaguered prime minister, and U.S. lawmakers openly questioned whether he should remain in power.

With no obvious replacement for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki – and no apparent intent on his part to step down – Washington is largely resigned to continue working with his Shiite-led government that has targeted Sunni political opponents and, in turn, has inflamed sectarian tensions across Iraq.

“He’s obviously not been a good prime minister,” said Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He has not done a good job of reaching out to the Sunni population, which has caused them to be more receptive to al-Qaida efforts.”

The panel’s chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., noted only lukewarm support for al-Maliki, both in Iraq and among U.S. officials. “I don’t know whether or not he will actually be the prime minister again,” Menendez said. “I guess by many accounts, he may very well ultimately put (together) the coalition necessary to do that.”

How long until Iraq has a stable government?

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