The United States is trying to broker a deal that would see the two strongest finishers in last month’s Iraqi election rotate the prime ministership. Incumbent Nouri Al-Maliki insists he won the election although the bloc of his challenger, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, earned two more seats than his bloc. Al-Maliki has sworn he will not allow Allawi to take over as prime minister. As the crisis grows so does American embarrassment and the fear that resulting instability will prevent the U.S. from withdrawing its troops according to its set timetable. The British Independent is reporting that the Obama administration is pushing a deal that would see Al-Maliki and Allawi serve rotating two-year terms as prime minister. With anti-Shia violence surging, U.S. military leaders are concerned that anti-American cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr will reactivate his fighting force in order to protect Shia shrines and neighborhoods and that such a move will be seen as a sign of weakness in the Iraqi government. 72 Shia civilians died in a series of bombings on Friday. It’s the Sunni-Shia divide that is the major stumbling bloc to the American plan.