U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday congratualted Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the completion of his cabinet appointments with the naming of interior minister and defense minister.

"These new ministers are part of a democratic government that represents all Iraqis. They will play a vital role as the Iraqi government addresses its top priorities: reconciliation and reconstruction, and putting an end to the kidnappings and beheadings and suicide bombings that plague the Iraqi people," Bush said at the White House.

Maliki announced earlier in the day the completion of his cabinet appointments with the naming of a new minister of Defense, a new minister of the Interior, and a new minister of State for National Security, Bush said.

Almost six months after Iraqis voted for their first full-term government, two of the most essential jobs in that government remain unfilled: the interior minister, who oversees the police, and the defense minister, who oversees the army.

"That would be a serious political crisis in any country. It is little short of calamitous for Iraq," the New York Times said editorially on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua