Iraq is lucky to have al-Maliki
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  1. #1
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    Iraq is lucky to have al-Maliki

    Iraq is lucky to have al-Maliki


    By TARIQ ALHOMAYED


    Wednesday, 28 December 2011


    Perhaps the extremists, or the ideologues, are not the only ones who are lucky with regards to the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, rather everyone who is committed to the unity of Iraq, the survival of the political process there, and the avoidance of sectarianism, is lucky to have Nuri al-Maliki as a prime minister. This is because Nuri al-Maliki has moved away from the political game, and instead resorted to using force against his opponents, immediately following the withdrawal of U.S. troops. This represented a red flag to all those who are concerned about the future of Iraq.
    Al-Maliki is a man who has not mastered the political game, and it seems that he does not even believe in politics at all, or at least not as much as he believes in the power of force. Therefore, he has over-used what he terms “the law,” and we now see him seeking to arrest Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, and fire his own deputy, Saleh al-Mutlaq, whilst he is also clashing with Iraqi Parliamentary Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi.

    The common denominator between these three individuals is that they are all Sunnis, and this is clear evidence of Nuri al-Maliki’s lack of political awareness! This is not all, for now we see the Kurds confronting al-Maliki, by mediating [on behalf of al-Maliki’s opponents] – or call this what you like – and the same goes for the Sadrists, whilst the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq [ISCI] has also entered the fray. One might say: how can al-Maliki be sectarian, when the [Shiite] ISCI, the Sadrists, and others, are not supporting him?

    This is the crux of the matter, for al-Maliki has even embarrassed his political partners in the political alliance that he heads and which allowed him to secure a second term in government, thanks to Iranian pressure; this is because he has not played the political game, but rather resorted to force. Therefore, al-Maliki has become the opponent, the rule, the security, the judiciary, and the media [in Iraq]. In this case, there is no difference whatsoever between al-Maliki and Saddam Hussein.

    When we say that the Iraqis – and not just the Iraqi extremists –
    are lucky to have Nuri al-Maliki, not, this is because al-Maliki is no good at playing the political game, and he quickly revealed the true dictatorial face of his regime immediately following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, not weeks or months later! Iraq would have been in even more trouble – not to mention the outside world – if instead of this, al-Maliki were the Mohammad Khatami of Iraq. However al-Maliki does not enjoy good relations with the Arab world; he is no Iyad Allawi or Jalal Talabani, for example.

    Al-Maliki has also not succeeded even in providing a reassuring impression to the West, and so we have seen one U.S. official ridiculing al-Maliki’s political position, according to the New York Times. The U.S. official reportedly stated that al-Maliki is not someone who cares about reaching a settlement or compromise. If al-Maliki were the Khatami of Iraq, he would have been able to deceive many of the politicians there, and a huge section of the Iraq people, and even regional countries and the West, in the same manner that Khatami did during his time in power in Iran.

    If this were the case, al-Maliki would be able to complete his project to transform Iraq into a sectarian nation where he is solely in control, and whose only party is his Islamic Dawa party, which would take the place of the Iraqi Baathist party [during the Saddam era]. However al-Maliki’s security performance, and his lack of political awareness, may now spare the Iraqis from a future stage of de-Dawaification!

    For Mr. al-Maliki’s lack of political awareness has served as a red flag for the Iraqis, of all different trends and backgrounds, regarding the necessity of paying attention to the future that now awaits them, should al-Maliki succeed. Ultimately, this is a good thing for Iraq, namely for the crisis to be resolved today, and with the least possible damage. This is far better than this crisis being resolved after years, causing far greater damage.

    Therefore, perhaps Iraq and its people are lucky that al-Maliki’s plans have been exposed early, namely just one day after the U.S. withdrawal!

    (The article was published in the London-based Asharq Alawsat on August 27, 2011. Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.)

    https://english.alarabiya.net/views/2...28/184976.html

    Last edited by newmonies; 12-28-2011 at 03:19 PM.
    "Truth is everlasting, but our ideas about truth are changeable. Only a little of the first fruits of wisdom, only a few fragments of the boundless heights and depths of truth, have I been able to gather"



  2. #2
    Newmonies, how was this published in August when the troops didn't leave until Dec. and most of this didn't happen until Dec.?

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