More on Ghazi al-Yawar
From an informed Iraqi reader:
I thought I’d tell you a little bit about Ghazi Al-Yawer’s background. He’s a very good guy, and highly educated by Shammar standards. He is, however, only the nephew of the paramount shaykh (his uncle Muhsin) and not a big shaykh on his own. His uncle Muhsin spent the better part of thirty years in London, and never visited Iraq. He’s married to the sister-in-law of Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia which is why the Shammar are so favored in Saudi Arabia, that, and of course, the historic ties of the Shammar of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Now Ghazi was nominated to the Governing Council by his other uncle, Humaidi, now deceased. This aroused strong enmity between himself and his cousins, Humaidi’s sons. Humaidi was the acting shaykh and it was widely thought that, upon his death, one of his sons would take over his position. But they have been eclipsed by their cousin, Ghazi who was neither the son of the paramount nor acting shaykh. So now the Shammar are in limbo. In theory, Muhsin is still the paramount shaykh and did in fact visit Iraq after the US entry. But he is not very active. Meanwhile, the unknown Shammari, Ghazi, is set to become president of Iraq! No wonder Ghazi did not defer to Adnan al-Pachachi, as he reportedly deferred to the older Saleem who was later blown up. Even if Pachachi is his senior, we are talking about the Presidency of Iraq! This would put Ghazi, the Shammar and all educated, secular men on the map. What a great opportunity for this young man who never dreamed of being the paramount shaykh, let alone President of his country.