Iraq Unsettled by Political Power Plays

[Guest Aloysius]

Iraq Unsettled by Political Power Plays

 

By ALISSA J. RUBIN

Published: December 25, 2008

 

With provincial elections scheduled for the end of January, Iraq appears to be plagued by political troubles that seem closer to Shakespearean drama than to nascent democracy.

 

There is talk of a coup to oust the prime minister. The speaker of the Parliament has abruptly resigned, making angry accusations on his way out the door. And there have been sweeping arrests of people believed to be conspiring against the government, both in Baghdad and Diyala Province.

 

Beneath the swirl of accusations and rumors is a power play in which different factions within the government — and some outside it — are struggling to gain ground as American influence in the country wanes and elections approach that could begin to reshape the political landscape here.

 

The real struggle is for the country’s identity: how much the government will be controlled from Baghdad and how much from the provinces, who will hold power and who will have to give it up.

 

The American mantra has been that Iraq remains “fragile” — to use the words of Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Gen. David H. Petraeus. On the political front that seems especially true. The one source of political unity recently has been frustration with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who has been making arrests and using tribes in the provinces to set up personal power bases. His rivals, conscious of Iraq’s long history of dictatorship, are crying foul.

 

“Maliki is monopolizing all the political, security and economic decisions,” said Omar Abdul Sattar, a Sunni member of Parliament. He listed political parties that he said were turning against the prime minister, including a powerful Shiite party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is fighting Mr. Maliki’s drive to centralize power in Baghdad and pushing to give more to the provinces — where the party has important power bases, particularly in the south. “It’s simply the story of the transformation from a democratic prime minister into a dictator,” he said.

You can read the rest of the article here.

[Mr. T]

Al, so after reading this do you think that it would be wise for us to pull out all of the US troops in Iraq?

 

If we do will we be remaking Desert Storm 3 in a few years to clean up the new dictatorship?

[Guest Aloysius]

Maliki's consolidating power right now - with us still having a large military presence in the country.

 

So I don't see how our staying longer than we & the Iraqis have agreed to in the SOFA would somehow stop Maliki from making these moves.

[calfoxwc]

The members arrested were former Baath party members looking to manipulate situations to regain power after

the US leaves.

 

Maliki needed to resolve the issue now. Iraq has a right to protect itself - the ability to stop and enforce wiping out

the threat is a major great indicator of the strength of the Iraqi government now.

 

The Iraqi PEOPLE get to decide who is in the gov, not the violent overthrow by those Baath (Suni) renegades.

[Guest Aloysius]

Wrong.

 

All in Iraqi custody in Baath party plot freed

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA – Dec 19, 2008

 

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities released without charge Friday the security officials who had been arrested this week for allegedly conspiring to revive Saddam Hussein's banned political party, the interior minister said.

 

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani told The Associated Press that an investigating judge ordered them released because they were "innocent" and that there was no evidence that they attempted to restore the Baath party, whose exiled leaders staunchly oppose the current government.

 

He said 19 people were freed from custody and that charges were to be dismissed against the remaining four who are not in custody. Earlier in the day, al-Bolani told reporters at a news conference that the charges were politically motivated by those trying to undermine the interior ministry.

 

The release came a day after Iraqi officials said up to 25 people from the three major security ministries had been arrested over the past week.

 

Some Iraqi politicians had speculated the move was part of campaign to bolster Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's power before two key elections next year — at the expense of Sunnis and secular figures.

[osusev]

LIke I said before Iraq is basically three countries now, Autonomous armed kurds in the north, Shiites/Iran in the South/centra/easternl Iraq and KBR/Halliburton backed Sunni in west and central iraq...

 

Al maliki wants all of the power/money control in a central shiite dominated government and is moving to make sure he has the numbers in a legislation that is protected by the U.S. Military while we are there.

 

after we leave and have to come back we will institute the Bosnia model that basically exists there now anyways more formerlly.

 

I did forget the second largest standing army of course PRIVATE CONTRACTORS that number over 100k.

 

Any of you watch the documetary Iraq for Sale? pretty sickening.