The U.S. army on Sunday dismissed reports that the top American general in Iraq, General David Petraeus, had a stormy relationship with Iraq's prime minister, but said the pair had "very frank talks".
Tensions have surfaced between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and U.S. officials as he comes under growing pressure from Washington to intensify passage of legislation seen as crucial to easing violence between the country's Shi'ite and Sunnis. But a British newspaper reported on Saturday that the situation had got so bad that Maliki had asked U.S. President George W. Bush to remove Petraeus.
"This is a totally fabricated story," said Petraeus's spokesman, Colonel Steve Boylan, according to Reuters. "They have very frank, open, and perhaps direct conversations and continue to do so. Based on what is at stake here, that is what is needed and it should be expected that both are able to have very open and frank dialogue," he said.
The Daily Telegraph said the relationship between the two was stormy and added they had frequent shouting matches. "I can't deal with you anymore. I will ask for someone else to replace you," Maliki told Petraeus at one meeting, the newspaper said.
The daily and another media report said at one video teleconference with Bush, Maliki, angry over the U.S. military's alliance with some Sunni tribal leaders, had threatened to arm Shi'ite militias.
"General Petraeus and others have sat in on every video teleconference with PM Maliki and President Bush. Those statements have never been even hinted at," Boylan said.
A senior adviser to Maliki, Sadiq al-Rikabi, also dismissed the allegations as untrue. "I asked him personally yesterday whether there was a problem between him and General Petraeus and he told me there were no problems whatsover."
He said there had been tensions over the U.S. military's recruitment of Sunni tribal police to fight al Qaeda but said agreement had since been reached to form an Iraqi government committee to vet the recruits.
