Iraqi government is on 'borrowed time,' Rice says

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested on Thursday that the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was running out of time to restore security in Iraq but repeated her confidence in him.

''I have met Prime Minister Maliki. ... I saw his resolve. ''I think he knows that his government is, in a sense, on borrowed time, not just in terms of the American people but in terms of the Iraqi people,'' Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Her remarks came at a hearing where she testified about President George W. Bush's plan to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq. The plan was sharply criticized by many Democrats and Republicans at the hearing.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said the plan, unveiled in a speech on Wednesday night, was a major mistake.

''I think this speech given last night by this president represents the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam if it's carried out,'' said Hagel, a possible US 2008 presidential candidate.

REUTERS BDP BD2229