Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

Donate

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Email
  • RSS
  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2023 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Uncategorized

Unbreaking News Just Saw Al Jazeerahs

Juan Cole 04/26/2005

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email
0 Shares

Unbreaking News

Just saw al-Jazeerah’s evening news and now they are reporting that there has been a last-minute glitch in Jaafari’s presentation of his cabinet to the presidency council.

The presidency council is President Jalal Talabani (Kurd), VP Adil Abdul Mahdi (Shiite) and VP Ghazi al-Yawir (Sunni Arab). Al-Yawir is apparently dissatisfied with the final Sunni Arab participation in the parliament, and wants some specific ministries for the Sunni Arabs, including Education, which had not been reserved for them.

The cabinet has to be approved by all three members of the presidency council, so al-Yawir can hold it up.

This dynamic, of the three presidents, each representing one of the major ethnic groups, was set up by the Bush administration, and it is having predictable effects. It has allowed the religious Shiites to cut the minority secular Shiites out of the deal, since they don’t have a representative on the presidency council.

I suspect the hold-up is fairly temporary. But maybe Condi Rice should call Ghazi al-Yawir, too, just to be on the safe side.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter and have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.

Twitter

Follow Juan Cole @jricole or Informed Comment @infcomment on Twitter

Facebook



Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2023 All Rights Reserved

Posting....