In other Iraq news, France’s foreign minister has apologized for backing the replacement of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Bernard Kouchner made the call in an interview with Newsweek magazine last week. On Monday, Kouchner said he had apologized directly to Maliki.

Bernard Kouchner: “Because he was miffed, and basically it’s not the role of the French foreign minister to decide who will be prime minister or not in another country. There are criticisms of those Iraqis themselves that I wanted to pass on. And I clumsily, just once, in English, with a little video, forgot to say exactly what it was I had understood.”

Maliki has also demanded an apology from Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin for calling for his removal from office.