Afghanistan: Maliki steps aside, easing Iraq’s political crisis --- BAGHDAD — Embattled Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki stepped aside Thursday, clearing the way for a new prime minister and an expansion of U.S. military assistance at a moment when a raging insurgency threatens to tear the country apart. -- The 64-year-old premier, who had provoked a political crisis by refusing to cede power after eight years, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his rival Haider al-Abadi in an appearance on state television, as Maliki announced that he will back the efforts of his “brother” in forming a government for the sake of Iraq’s unity. --- Maliki has become a deeply divisive figure but had clung to his position in the face of a growing consensus among Iraq’s politicians and the international community that only a new leader would have a chance of unifying a country experiencing growing sectarian divisions. Maliki, a Shiite, had been accused of marginalizing the minority Sunni population, providing an opening for Sunni extremist fighters belonging to the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State.