Cabinet shaken as domestic and political rifts widen in Iraq

**Tumbleweed** · Admin Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts votes: 4

Here is some insight into what is going on with the Iraq government and what's behind it.

The front issued the threat one week ago, saying it would withdraw unless al-Maliki agreed to meet 12 demands, including releasing Sunni Arab detainees held without charge in U.S. and Iraqi detention centers; dissolving and disarming militias and officers and enlisted military personnel tied to militias; dismissing the defense minister; appointing competent, nonpartisan Iraqis to serve as technocrats; and improving relations with Arab states.

According to media reports, the front will only withdraw its ministers from government; the bloc's 44 parliamentarians will return to their jobs on September 4, following the legislature's one-month summer break.

Sadrists and Sunni Arabs share some common positions such as opposition to federalism, the constitution, and key pending legislation. But even putting their sectarian tendencies aside, the differences that separate the two groups far outweigh their commonalities.Parliamentarians from the front had previously walked out of parliament for five weeks, returning to work on July 19 following negotiations among Sunni, Shi'ite, and Kurdish leaders over the dismissal of parliament speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani in early June.

A Quarter Of The Cabinet Gone

The decision to withdraw from the cabinet while keeping parliamentarians in their posts aims to destabilize al-Maliki's cabinet while ensuring that Sunni representatives help challenge key legislation due to be examined and voted on following the summer break -- including the draft oil law.

Moreover, the departure of the six cabinet ministers from the Accordance Front, coupled with the departure of five ministers aligned with Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr earlier this year, leaves the cabinet devoid of any real opposition. The 11 ministers make up about 25 percent of the cabinet. Al-Maliki this week put forth a proposal to streamline the cabinet that would combine ministries and bring several posts under the oversight of national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i. The proposal, offered before the Accordance Front's withdrawal, was rejected by the cabinet outright. It is unclear whether al-Maliki will attempt to push it through again.

President Jalal Talabani said this week that four major political parties -- the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party, and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) -- will continue to push for the formation of a moderates front in the parliament. Taken together, the four parties control a significant number of seats in the National Assembly, though they fall short of holding a majority.

It is questionable whether a moderates front -- billed as a nonsectarian grouping that will lobby for a united Iraq -- would have any legitimacy without the participation of Sunni Arabs. The forces behind the effort have been trying for several weeks to win the support of Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's Iraqi Islamic Party. The Islamic Party is a key member of the Accordance Front. For the time being, al-Hashimi is not biting. As a key critic of al-Maliki's administration, al-Hashimi has said that he will not join any grouping without key concessions from the prime minister with regard to power sharing in government.

Al-Ja'fari's Machinations

Meanwhile, former Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari has begun to push publicly for a cabinet reshuffle, a push that appears part of a broader plan by al-Ja'fari to unseat al-Maliki, who replaced him following the December 2005 elections.

Al-Ja'fari was reportedly behind media reports two weeks ago that called for replacing Kurdish President Talabani with a Sunni Arab leader. Al-Ja'fari met with Talabani in Al-Sulaymaniyah on July 27 to discuss the current political situation. Kurdish press reported that al-Ja'fari was seeking support to overthrow al-Maliki's government and insert himself as prime minister. Al-Ja'fari has denied the allegations, and he has also denied media reports suggesting that he is seeking to form a new political front of his own.

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**CHUQ** · Agitator Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts votes: 3

Good article! Maliki has lost his quorum with that he has lost his hold on his job. Without an agreement of members he may be replaced sooner than I predicted.

**CHUQ** · Agitator Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts votes: 3

Maliki's seat is heating up. I will be watching!

BAGHDAD — Ministers with a secular political bloc boycotting the national government called on Prime Minister Nouri Maliki today to respond to a list of demands submitted earlier this year to remove what they labeled sectarian bias from his government.

The five present and former ministers with the Iraqi National List, part of the Iraqi National Accord bloc, or Iraqiya, announced their boycott Monday.

The bloc is led by former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shiite Muslim who has been accused of trying to undermine the Maliki government. Those boycotting include the ministers of communications, science and technology, human rights and state, along with the former justice minister.

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**Tumbleweed** · Admin Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts votes: 4

I feel the sooner Maliki steps down, the sooner there can be some sort of reconciliation of the central governments different factions. He is not the leader Iraq needs to unify the country. He is more of a problem than a solution. IMO.

**CHUQ** · Agitator Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts votes: 3

THey wilolo need to change a few things, for the shi'a will remain in control of the govt because they are a majority and as such will always have the sunni on their butts about something. Scrap the system and start a new one.