BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday called for an end to the "political vacuum" in Iraq and for the Iraqis to form a new government.
Speaking at a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Rice said the next Iraqi prime minister must be a "strong leader" capable of unifying the people of this fractured country.
The chief U.S. and British diplomats are on the second day of a surprise visit to Baghdad aimed at trying to end the political stalemate that has prevented the formation of a new government.
Rice and Straw -- who flew into the Iraqi capital Sunday from northwest England -- met with Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish politicians, who have been stalled in their efforts to form a government following the December 15 parliamentary elections.

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it's WAR....

This forum is not about politics, and the mess in Iraq.