Getty Images Will Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki be able to unite Iraq’s various factions, or will he be forced out? Getty Images Once, Maliki boasted that he brought stability to Iraq. But critics say that in eight years of rule, he stoked the sectarian tension that has now flared. As the country looks more like a Sunni vs. Shiite battlefield, many blame him. Some also hold the United States responsible for supporting Maliki for so long. “He was created by America, and they have allowed him to fail through eight years, and were satisfied with his work in Iraq,” says Osama Hussein, another militiaman.