In Washington, the Bush administration is coming under increasing pressure for its handling of the Iraq war. On Saturday the President met with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and top U.S. commanders including Gen. John Abizaid and Gen. George Casey to discuss Iraq. On Sunday the New York Times reported the Bush administration is drafting a timetable for the Iraqi government to address sectarian divisions and assume a larger role in securing the country. Officials said that for the first time Iraq was likely to be asked to disarm militias and create political, economic and military benchmarks intended to stabilize the country. Democratic Senator Joe Biden criticized the approach.

• Sen. Joe Biden“No, I don’t think we should be talking about deadlines because deadlines artificially tie our hands. We have got to figure out how to responsibly leave Iraq. Part of the requirement I think most people agree with now is you’ve got to let Maliki know is that he does not have an indefinite timetable for U.S. troops to continue to be apartheid cops. That’s what we’re being now and we cannot stop a civil war with 140,000 U.S. forces.”