The Obama administration has been actively seeking alternatives to Iraq’s divisive prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, as his country approaches the formation of a new government following recent parliamentary elections.
Citing US officials, the Washington Post reported that when the current crisis began last week, the administration told Maliki in no uncertain terms that time was short for his Shia-dominated government to reach out to Sunni and Kurdish communities with new offers of political inclusion.
Otherwise, officials cautioned, Kurds would likely see the upheaval as an opportunity to form their own state, while at least some Sunnis would likely join with Islamist militants advancing on the capital.
Since then, while Maliki has taken some tentative steps, there has been virtually no substantive movement, officials said, according to the Post.
The lead news story in the paper said in recent days, US representatives on the ground in Baghdad — led by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk and Ambassador Robert Stephen Beecroft — have consulted with Sunni, Kurdish and Shiites outside Maliki’s governing alliance, to explore the possibility of forming a new government without him.
Although Maliki’s alliance won the most votes in April elections, with 92 out of 328 parliamentary seats, he must build a majority coalition in order to retain control of the government, the paper notes. The Iraqi Supreme Court certified the election results on Monday, starting a timeline for government formation.
First British Drew the lines of Islamic States – now Americans. When will Muslims decide their own fate and draw their own borders?
The world openly exploits the divides between Sunni and shia. If we could put aside our differences. Draw on our strengths. That day we can conquer the universe. Never mind the weak west.
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