Iraq: Feltman hints at declaring a state of emergencynote

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who paid a visit to Baghdad in the weekend, is said to have hinted at the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in Iraq if the governmental issue remains unsettled. The following 432-word report tells how leading Shiite cleric Ali Sistani and PM Nouri Al-Maliki reacted. It also tells what Feltman proposed within the context of the governmental issue.