Shiites Disgruntled with Caretaker Government
James Drummond reports for the Financial Times that al-Da`wa and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) have expressed dissatisfaction at how the caretaker government was formed. These two major Shiite political groupings just got one post each. Ibrahim Jaafari of al-Da`wa is one of two vice presidents, and SCIRI’s Adil Abdul Mahdi is Minister of Finance. An al-Da`wa spokesman had said on Tuesday that the government was formed “behind closed doors.”
Still, Drummond says that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani had been given a veto over candidates for prime minister, and had ok’d the list, which included Iyad Allawi (a secular ex-Baathist of Shiite background).