Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks to the media during a press conference following a meeting with foreign ambassadors.
Iraqi Politicians in Talks to Replace to Maliki as PM
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Major partners in Iraq’s governing coalition are in behind-the-scenes talks to oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki amid discontent over his failure to quell raging violence, according to lawmakers involved.
The talks are aimed at forming a new parliamentary bloc that would seek to replace the current government and that would likely exclude supporters of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is a vehement opponent of the U.S. military presence.
The new alliance would be led by senior Shiite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, who met with President Bush last week. Al-Hakim, however, was not expected to be the next prime minister because he prefers the role of powerbroker, staying above the grinding day-to-day running of the country.
A key figure in the proposed alliance, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, left for Washington on Sunday for a meeting with Bush at least three weeks ahead of schedule.
News of the bid to oust al-Maliki, in office since May, came amid growing dissent over his government’s performance among his Sunni and Shiite partners and the damaging fallout from a leaked White House memo questioning the prime minister’s abilities.
Washington also has been unhappy with al-Maliki’s reluctance to comply with its repeated demands to disband Shiite militias blamed for much of Iraq’s sectarian bloodletting.
Bush publicly expressed his confidence in al-Maliki after talks in Jordan on Nov. 30. But the president told White House reporters four days later that he was not satisfied with the pace of efforts to stop Iraq’s violence.
It was not immediately clear how much progress had been made in the effort to cobble together a new parliamentary alliance. But lawmakers loyal to al-Sadr who support al-Maliki were almost certainly not going to be a part of it. They had no word on al-Maliki’s Dawa party.
They said al-Maliki was livid at the attempt to unseat him.
“We know what’s going on and we will sabotage it,” said a close al-Maliki aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities involved. He did not elaborate.
A senior aide to al-Sadr, who insisted on anonymity for the same reason, said the proposed alliance was primarily designed to exclude the cleric’s backers and they would resist.
Wild Thing’s comment……
Maliki had better get out of bed with Al Sadr, or he is going to be toast. And Hakim is very close to Iran as is his militia. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite cleric heads the SCIRI party. (“SCIRI” stands for “Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) He is a real slippery snake well engrossed in Iranian influences.
It will be interesting to see what they are planning. I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens next.
One thng for sure they have got to get rid of al_Sadr.
It is interesting that it has taken this long for the Iraqi people to press for changes in leadership to end Malaki’s reign and stop al Sadr. Too little response too late. Not many societies can sustain 50, 75 or 100 civilian slaughters a day without civil outrage but Baghdad seems to be the exception. It’s just that Religion of Peace manifesting itself.
Malaki has dragged his feet into a new U.S. administration that is itching to bail out, all the while Iraq is infested with outside fighters willing to take over like Hezbollah has in Lebanon. I don’t entertain much hope for anything more than an Iranian type of dictatorial theocracy in Iraq and a resumption of the Taliban style of oppressive enforcement and butchery the Moslems love.
On the grand stage, opportunity doesn’t happen that often and you have to grab that brass ring to succeed, they’ve fumbled miserably, demonstrating that liberty and freedom aren’t worth cherishing and protecting once granted to them. At least we tried and suceeded gaining their independence only to have them and the Democrats fail our efforts.
Well stated Jack. I don’t know if our further efforts will be worth the cost. I wonder, if we stay the course with the Kurds and use their success as a model—–ah, hell. Nothing seems to work.
It takes the cooperation of too many that refuse to cooperate. Europe and the rest of the World have done little, nothing or have stood in the way of the effort to bring stability and open mindness to an area of the Mid East. Does the rest of the World not understand that these moslems eventually want to dominate and destroy the freedoms that most of the World enjoy. America and it’s small coalition, and Israel are about all that stand armed and defiant in the face of the spread of militant islam.
The muslims themselves have been given an apportunity to taste and inhale freedom. But they seem to just have to slip back into tribal and sectarian warfare. Are the few that see the light worth our sacrifices? Is it worth the commitment of decades, maybe generations to try to clean up this mess of centuries of hatred and ignorance? The muslims are pissed at the West for events 700-800 years ago. We in the West tend to consider 5 years a long time to remember.
Did we jump into Iraq without thinking ahead? Did we think a quick, decisive military victory would be followed by an equally quick and successful cultural change? Would the muslim leaders have been more fearful of us if we had destroyed Saddam’s military, toppled his leadership, left the mess to boil and threatened to do this in other countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria?
Right now I am confused. I do not know what America(essentially alone) should do, other than stop muslim immigration here. The rest of the World is not with us, I do not know if President Bush does have a workable game plan, the Democrap majority and media is going to fight us as hard and underhanded as the terrorists, the UN will continue to feed it’s own face.
I am thinking we should publically test some of our tactical nuclear weapons to remind the world we have other options. Then, if we can overcome the homegrown anti-American culture bunch, and the profit over sense bunch, I would like to see some of our troops redeployed to our borders to successfully fight our Second War of survival, the War for American Culture.
“Did we jump into Iraq without thinking ahead?”
Yeah, we did only we only jumped in with one foot..the administration either didn’t review the history of the arae or didn’t care about it..the point is that these people have been killing each other for centuries and only a “strong man” rule such as that of the Ottaman Turks and later Saddam Hussein has ever been able to effectively govern them. They may not like a strong man type government but they damn well respect it.
And then Iraq as we know it now has arbitrary borders set up by the Brits who decided where the borders should be without taking into consideration the religious and tribal feuds of the region.
I have suggested on several occasions that the final solution will be three different countries..one each for the Kurds, Shiiti and Sunni. The problem will be who gets how much of the oil revenues and keeping the Iranians from running the Shiiti government..as they are now.
A well place cruise missile might solve the Iranian problem…you might say just nip it in the bud…
Removing al Sadr and allowing even more pro-Iranian Shi’a influence in the government is unlikely to stop the sectarian violence.
The Sunni are going to be ethnically-cleansed as long as the Shi’a are dominant. Did the Sunni think that after having aligned themselves with Saddam and the Ba’thists they were going to be left alone when the regime ended?
They had their chance to align themselves with the government and with us. They didn’t. Now they’re all going to die or be removed to Al Anbar Province.
Ethnic cleansing works. The need for it results from the collision of groups who wish to live apart, either through the accidents of history or by the imposition of false borders by the old colonial powers.
The American experiment with cross-cultural mingling is the exception in the world, and we’re not even sure whether it’s going to be permanently peaceful in the US over the long haul. I don’t mean racial integration in itself, I mean multiculturalism. Where race is aggravated by distinct cultural differences, the result is the same.
Everything old or thought to be obsolete, and wished out of existence, reasserts itself eventually.
Jack…”At least we tried and succeeded gaining their independence only to have them and the Democrats fail our efforts.”……..
I agree, with a lot of sacrifice and the cost of lives our troops made it possible for them to feel what freedom is like, to be able to vote without Saddam threatening them. But they have to want it too, they have to decide that life has value and even that much I need to see that happening. They have lived in a different mindset besides an era so old it has nothing to do with the world, as we know it. Their fear of the various groups out to kill each other ways more then freedom in their minds and hearts for far too many of them.
Add in to that like you said the mixture of the Democrats and their hate for victory aiding them in any doubts they (the people of Iraq) have about freedom….. is it worth it to fight back has got to be in all the Iraqi’s minds.
Just one American soldiers life is worth more then the entire population of Iraq.
Tom…..”the few that see the light worth our sacrifices?”….
For me it isn’t. They have to want freedom, and I don’t think they even understand it. Oh maybe a few do, but not enough. It has to be something that comes from every tissue of ones soul to fight for it, to fight to have it, to keep it.
I agree Tom.
GUYK, at first I thought this is great, we are going in their with such force and we did I think. But it felt like all of a sudden our leaders began to weaken. The media, the left became so loud and still are of how evil we are to do what we did. That didn’t help but it was no excuse to turn our military over to the media and the politicians.
I agree what they respect or fear the most is strength.
Rhod, I understand and your right. And also about removing al-Sadr won’t change anything. That is interesting what you said about multiculturalism here and I have been wondering a lot about that. Thank you so much.