Press on US support for Maliki

Does Bush trust Maliki?

Newspapers in the Middle East are scrutinizing the relationship between the US and Iraqi leaders after President Bush appeared to backtrack from his publicly expressed doubts in Prime Minister Maliki.

Some say that Bush is looking for a scapegoat for his own failed policies in Iraq. Others blame Maliki for not being able to adequately rule or unite the factions in his country.

One commentator predicts that the hint of withdrawal of US support spells doom for Maliki's career.

BASIM AL-SHAYKH IN IRAQ'S AL-DUSTUR

Is Bush finally convinced that the fate of Maliki's government is no longer in the hands of the US administration? Or is it a step towards shirking responsibility for the political results in Iraq...? Does his statement mean he is abandoning Maliki and searching for an alternative or is it a manoeuvre to prove that such a decision would be an internal Iraqi matter?

ABD-AL-BARI ATWAN IN PAN-ARAB AL-QUDS AL-ARABI

US President George W Bush does not know what to do with his ally Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki... President Bush is looking for a scapegoat for his failed policies in Iraq and therefore he is now putting the responsibility on Maliki and the Iraqi people.

MUHAMMAD ABD-AL-JABBAR SHABBUT IN IRAQ'S AL-ZAMAN

The political class should admit that it has not succeeded in ruling Iraq four years after the fall of the idol [Saddam Hussein]. This failure does not concern the government alone. It involves the whole political strata that have produced this government.

MAHMUD AL-RIMAWI IN JORDAN'S AL-RA'Y

Such reservations about Maliki's government also existed during the previous government of Ibrahim Jafari. What is happening is a repeat of past mistakes but with the addition of thousands of new victims from all sides.

SAUDI ARABIA'S AL-JAZIRAH

Maliki has proved in many situations that he is not a political leader who speaks on behalf of his people. He has become mired in sectarianism which has made him lose the credibility needed for achieving national reconciliation.

MUHAMMAD KHARRUB IN JORDAN'S AL-RA'Y

The person who brought Maliki to power has left him exposed... US support for Maliki is no longer eternal and nor has it ever been the case... It is the end for Maliki politically and maybe personally.

EGYPT'S AL-JUMHURIYAH

Bush is trying to look for a scapegoat for the failure of the security plan for which he has mobilized about 170,000 US soldiers.

ABD AL-MUN'IM IBRAHIM IN BAHRAIN'S AKHBAR-AL-KHALEEJ

The problem of the US Administration is that it does not admit mistakes until it is too late... The US president's statement that he feels disappointed in Iraqi leaders is proof of this problem.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.