Obama meets with Iraq’s Maliki, vows ongoing partnership; no public aid commitment made --- President Obama assured visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday that the United States wants to be a strong partner in bringing about a stable and inclusive Iraq amid a rapid spike in sectarian violence that threatens security across the country. -- Obama said he urged Maliki to pass an election law so Iraqis can express their differences politically instead of using violence. The United States has been seeking to pressure Maliki to stop his Shiite-led government’s political mistreatment of Sunnis and hold him accountable for a failure to govern inclusively. washingtonpost