Make us your home page  Political crisis deepens in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Special forces teams and army tanks surrounded the
Green Zone housing Iraq's government as Prime Minister Nouri al-
Maliki fiercely clung to power Sunday, taking the stability of
the country to the brink at a moment when it is already facing a
lethal challenge from radical Islamist fighters.  In actions
that had all the markings of a political coup, al-Maliki gave a
defiant late-night speech in Baghdad saying he would lodge a
legal case against Iraq's president, who has resisted naming him
as the candidate for another term as prime minister.  Tanks
rumbled onto major bridges and roads in the capital as security
forces were put on high alert, with militiamen also patrolling
Shiite neighborhoods. The special forces teams surrounding the
Green Zone were taking orders directly from the prime minister,
security officials said.  Al-Maliki's critics blame him for
overseeing the de facto fragmentation of the country, with
extremists from the Sunni-dom