Nouri Maliki becoming more and more isolated
AP, Baghdad, 12 August 2014 — Iraq’s incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared more isolated Tuesday as he pressed his battle to remain in power while Iraqi politicians and the international community rallied behind a Shiite premier-designate who could be a more unifying figure, badly needed if the nation is to confront a spreading Sunni insurgency.
On Monday, Haider al-Ibadi, the deputy speaker of parliament from al-Maliki’s Shiite Dawa party, was selected by President Fouad Massoum to be the new prime minister and was given 30 days to present a new government to lawmakers for approval.
President Barack Obama called al-Ibadi’s nomination a “promising step forward” and urged “all Iraqi political leaders to work peacefully through the political process.”
Meanwhile, the United States increased its role in fighting back the Sunni extremists who have threatened the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Senior American officials said Monday that U.S. intelligence agencies are directly arming the Kurds who are battling the militants.
The development reflected a shift in Washington’s policy of only working through the central government in Baghdad.
Al-Ibadi’s nomination was a major breakthrough in the political deadlock that followed the April parliamentary elections. It shows that al-Maliki has lost some support with the main coalition of Shiite parties.
His critics say al-Maliki contributed to Iraq’s political crisis by monopolizing power and pursuing a sectarian agenda that alienated the country’s Sunni and Kurdish minorities.
Al-Ibadi, the former minister of communications from 2003-04, pledged to form a government to “protect the Iraqi people.” He was nominated after receiving the majority of votes from lawmakers within the Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shiite parties.
So far, there have been only rare voices in support of al-Ibadi among Iraqi Sunnis, who have long criticized al-Maliki of sidelining their community and inflaming sectarian tensions.
“Change is essential and a chance must be given to others because defiance is wrong,” Hamid al-Mutlaq, a Sunni lawmaker, told The Associated Press.
The Shiite Alliance that proposed al-Ibadi “has to come up with a clear approach over how to run the government in a way that corrects the mistakes, changes the course, boosts national unity away from sectarianism and crises,” added al-Mutlag.
On Monday, Haider al-Ibadi, the deputy speaker of parliament from al-Maliki’s Shiite Dawa party, was selected by President Fouad Massoum to be the new prime minister and was given 30 days to present a new government to lawmakers for approval.
President Barack Obama called al-Ibadi’s nomination a “promising step forward” and urged “all Iraqi political leaders to work peacefully through the political process.”
Meanwhile, the United States increased its role in fighting back the Sunni extremists who have threatened the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Senior American officials said Monday that U.S. intelligence agencies are directly arming the Kurds who are battling the militants.
The development reflected a shift in Washington’s policy of only working through the central government in Baghdad.
Al-Ibadi’s nomination was a major breakthrough in the political deadlock that followed the April parliamentary elections. It shows that al-Maliki has lost some support with the main coalition of Shiite parties.
His critics say al-Maliki contributed to Iraq’s political crisis by monopolizing power and pursuing a sectarian agenda that alienated the country’s Sunni and Kurdish minorities.
Al-Ibadi, the former minister of communications from 2003-04, pledged to form a government to “protect the Iraqi people.” He was nominated after receiving the majority of votes from lawmakers within the Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shiite parties.
So far, there have been only rare voices in support of al-Ibadi among Iraqi Sunnis, who have long criticized al-Maliki of sidelining their community and inflaming sectarian tensions.
“Change is essential and a chance must be given to others because defiance is wrong,” Hamid al-Mutlaq, a Sunni lawmaker, told The Associated Press.
The Shiite Alliance that proposed al-Ibadi “has to come up with a clear approach over how to run the government in a way that corrects the mistakes, changes the course, boosts national unity away from sectarianism and crises,” added al-Mutlag.
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