Comments on: Iraq: National Unity Government or Return to Sectarianism? 53 Killed in Diyala Bombing

By: RealityZone

RealityZone — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:47:50 +0000

Al Sadr is the Nasrallah of Iraq.

By: sherm

sherm — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:41:18 +0000

Is there a "chicken in every pot" party, or an "improve health care" party, or a "rebuild infrastructure" party, or even a "make the trains run on time" party?

I've yet to to see any info on what these parties stand for other than their antagonisms toward each other, and their overarching desire to rule.

I remember being surprised at, how soon after the invasion, organized political parties appeared. Like they were there all the time just waiting for the opportunity to operate like political parties the world over - bragging, deceiving, insulting, self centered, and (except maybe for al Sadr) remarkably unconcerned about the misery of the citizens.

By: RealityZone

RealityZone — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:09:44 +0000

I believe this was Al Sadr's plan all along. Becoming a more potent force with in the government.
When, and or if Al Sadr returns recognized as a cleric. Then this will give him even more credibility, and power.

By: Patrick Cummins

Patrick Cummins — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:04:30 +0000

"al-Maliki is deeply disliked by Muqtada al-Sadr and the Sadrists because he used the Iraqi Army to crush their Mahdi Army militia"

Sure, and Al-Sadr is surely no big fan of Iyad Allawi who once tried to have him killed.

As you wrote in Feb. 2006:

"Muqtada hates Iyad Allawi on many grounds (he is an ex-Baathist who organized Baath officers for a coup against Saddam), but most of all because Allawi is known to have wanted to send a SWAT team into the shrine of Ali at Najaf in August 2004 to attempt to kill Muqtada and his key aides, even at the risk of destroying the shrine."

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:21:38 +0000

An important factor in all of this is the potential for a bloc or more to fragment. When the earliest results gave Maliki a good margin, he managed to persuade second tier members of Allawi's bloc to switch sides, but they have now switched back.

The same will likely happen to Maliki's bloc now. Many joined him purely to get a share of the spoils. Maliki's Da'wa party itself is notoriously fragmented and they do elect their leaders, unlike the Sadr and Hakim parties.

The INA may fall apart too, as the Sadrists take over its leadership. Factions from both SoL and INA may move across too.

By: MonsieurGonzo

MonsieurGonzo — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:53:54 +0000

NYTimes Court Decision Before Iraq Vote May Complicate Result : “on Thursday, the day before the vote results were announced, the prime minister’s office quietly went to the Supreme Federal Court, Iraq’s highest court, and asked for an interpretation of Article 76, which the court issued speedily — and in Mr. Maliki’s favor. The court ruled that the president would choose not the leader of the voting bloc with the highest number of seats when the results are ratified, but the leader with the most seats after the new parliament is seated.”

“That gives both candidates until June to maneuver to win over candidates from other alliances. The candidate with the first opportunity to put together a government has an enormous negotiating advantage, because he has the first 30 days to try to find a ruling coalition. Mr. Maliki, who remains as caretaker until the new government, has the additional advantage of incumbency during the deal-making process. On the other hand, Mr. Allawi could still be given the first chance to form a government if Mr. Maliki cannot put together a majority. Both candidates, in their initial public statements, immediately began trying to woo away followers of their opponents.”

“With Mr. Allawi winning not only the most seats in Parliament, but also the most popular votes, there could be widespread dissatisfaction among Iraqis if Mr. Maliki is given the first opportunity to form a government. In final results, Mr. Allawi’s Iraqiya list won 2,851,823 votes nationwide, to 2,797,624 for Mr. Maliki and 2,095,354 for the Shiite alliance, the Iraqi National Alliance. The Kurdistan Alliance took 1,686,344 votes.”