Calling for the overthrow of Maliki?

I saw the excerpts of Sen. Levin criticizing the Iraq strategy and troop surge, but did he really call on the Iraqi assembly to throw Maliki out as reported in this AP story?

In a joint statement Monday, Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., said that while the military buildup has "produced some credible and positive results," the political outlook is darker. The senators said that during their visit to Iraq last week they told Iraqi leaders of American impatience with the lack of political progress, and "impressed upon them that time has run out in that regard."

In a separate telephone interview with reporters, Levin urged the Iraqi assembly to oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and replace his government with one that is less sectarian and more unifying.....

In response to Levin's remarks about dumping al-Maliki, Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, noted that Iraqi leaders have been holding talks in recent days on ways to move toward a unified government.

Maybe the notable thing in this is that the White House's first response wasn't to jump to attack, but instead to say, "we're working on something different to change the government."

Is there a much clearer declaration that the age of Maliki is over?

(Later: The NYTimes and WaPo have more.)

More: BostonGlobe has a bit about US efforts to prop up Maliki.

That has led some analysts to question the diplomatic efforts of Crocker and O'Sullivan.

"Meghan O'Sullivan has been there doing negotiations for several days, and all they can come up with is this tiny group" of parties to back Maliki, said Reidar Visser, a historian who edits the Iraq-focused website historiae.org.

Suzanne Maloney, a former State Department official who followed internal discussion about Maliki, said that Iraqi politicians appear to preparing for a "post-Maliki future," anticipating his downfall.

As I've been saying for months, the Iraqis themselves gave up on Maliki months ago and have been preparing for a post-Maliki Iraq. US efforts to prop him up have wasted what little US influence was left.