Iraqi VP calls for U.S. military help

BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The Iraqi government should reassess how best to use the U.S. military forces in place in the country, the Iraqi vice president said in an interview.

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor that Baghdad should examine the role U.S. military forces play in the country.

Mehdi said Baghdad should look at "how to use the troops already there, to (not) neglect them, to make them functional in the way they should help Iraq, assist Iraq."

His comments come as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces criticism for his reluctance to call for the help of U.S. military forces in the wake of the bilateral status of forces agreement reached with Washington in 2008.

The Shiite vice president added he would call for an investigation into why Iraqi security officials waited several hours before calling for U.S. assistance in the wake of the Aug. 19 attacks.

Mehdi is a member of the newly formed grand Iraqi National Alliance, which is expected to back the vice president in his challenge to Maliki in the January parliamentary elections.

Maliki faces direct challenges from some of the leading figures in Iraqi politics, including Mehdi, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and Ahmed Chalabi.

Iraqi parliamentary elections are scheduled tentatively for Jan. 16.