Update 28: Al-Jaafari Ally New Nominee for Iraq PM

Forbes & AP ^ | Friday, April 21, 2006 | QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA

[stop_fascism]

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Shiite politicians agreed Friday to nominate Jawad al-Maliki as prime minister, replacing the incumbent in a bid to clear the way for a long-delayed new government, two Shiite officials said.

Al-Maliki is a top ally of outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose nomination had sparked sharp opposition from Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders and caused a deadlock lasting months.

Leaders of the seven parties that make up the Shiite alliance agreed on al-Maliki's nomination in a meeting Friday evening, said Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the largest party in the alliance.

Al-Maliki won the nomination with agreement from six of the parties, said another SCIRI official, Ridha Jawad Taqi. The seventh party, Fadhila, had presented its own candidate, but only five of seven parties were needed to win a "consensus" agreement on a nominee.

The Shiite nominee is to be presented to a session of parliament on Saturday.

If Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties accept al-Maliki — and some have indicated they will — it could be a breakthrough in the two-month standoff that has prevented the forming of a national unity government.

Al-Maliki is one of the top figures in al-Jaafari's Dawa party and has often appeared as his spokesman. Still, little is known about him since he fled Iraq in the 1980s, settling in Syria and working in Dawa's political office. He returned to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

SCIRI and other parties in the alliance had initially expressed opposition to al-Maliki because it feared he would be unacceptable to Sunni Arabs.

Al-Maliki was a top official in the commission in charge of purging members of Saddam's ousted Baath Party from the military and government. Sunnis, who made up the backbone of the Baath Party, consider the commission a means of squeezing them out of influence in post-Saddam Iraq.

But the Dawa party warned of further problems within the alliance if al-Maliki were rejected after Dawa leader al-Jaafari was forced to give up the nomination.

Sunnis appeared willing to take al-Maliki, after fiercely opposing a second term for al-Jaafari, who bowed out Thursday.

"If anyone is nominated except al-Jaafari, we won't put any obstacles in his way. He will receive our support," Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the main Sunni Arab coalition in parliament, told The Associated Press.

Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker, said the Kurdish parties had no opposition to al-Maliki.

The Shiites are the biggest bloc in parliament but lack the strength to govern without Sunni and Kurdish partners. As the biggest bloc, the Shiites get first crack at the prime minister's job.

Al-Jaafari had held out for weeks against increasing pressure on him to step aside.

Sunni and Kurdish politicians blamed the rise of sectarian tensions on al-Jaafari for failing to rein in Shiite militias and Interior Ministry commandoes, accused by the Sunnis of harboring death squads. Those parties refused to join any government headed by al-Jaafari.

He stepped down after Iraq's most powerful Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, sent word that he should go, according to some lawmakers.

U.S officials are insisting that the Iraqis move quickly to form a new government to begin the task of confronting sectarian violence and the armed insurgency. The Bush administration hopes such a government will curb Iraq's slide toward anarchy and enable the U.S. to begin bringing home its 133,000 troops.

[stop_fascism]

Anyone know about this guy?

[areafiftyone]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Jawad al-Maliki is an Iraqi politician and the deputy leader of the Islamic Dawa Party. In April 2006 he was nominated to be the prime minister of Iraq.

He was the senior Shi'ite member of the committee that drafted the new constitution in 2005. Prior to this he was the deputy leader of the De-Baathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government [1]

During the regime of Saddam Hussein, he lived in exile in Syria, where he headed the Dawa party office. He was elected chairman of the Joint Action Committee, a Damascas-based opposition coalition that led to the founding of the Iraqi National Congress, which the Dawa Party participated in from 1992-95. [2]

This article about an Iraqi politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Kjobs]

Al-Maliki is a top ally of outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

[CharlesWayneCT]

I know the MSM was trying to say he would be unacceptable to the others, but it sounds like he's OK with them.

I would think that having raised such a fuss, the other two groups wouldn't accede to someone even worse.

[areafiftyone]

The MSM won't be happy until someone like Saddam Hussein is in power that way they can say they were right about Iraq and Bush was wrong!

[george wythe]

This is good news. Finally, the Iraqis will get their act together and form a government.

[saganite]

Maybe, maybe not but it's encouraging to see the Sunnis and Kurds saying they will accept him. Getting the govt up and running there is extremely important right now.

[bert]

...I know the MSM was trying to say he would be unacceptable to the others, but it sounds like he's OK with them..........

This is interesting. It could be he is acceptable because it was necessary for the Sunnis to win a battle and ousting the PM was the victory. They appear to have successfully accomplished something meaningful, even if it acutually is not really so important.

[kabar]

It is very good news. The formation of an Iraqi government will suck a lot of air out the anti-war movement. If we can continue the current downward trend in US casualties over the past six months (April spike upwards aside) and the Iraqis continue to assume more of the security burden, we can start withdrawing some troops. That will have an impact on the mid-term elections.

[Migraine]

Al Malicki? I think he's a Polish dude. If so, I think he may be in over his head. /humor

[Redbob]

That "lived in Syria" bit should run up a red flag.

[Dave S]

It could be he is acceptable because it was necessary for the Sunnis to win a battle and ousting the PM was the victory. They appear to have successfully accomplished something meaningful, even if it acutually is not really so important.

The guy he is replacing as PM was an incredibly weak leader. While it's possible he could be worse, the odds are strongly against it. The previous jerk was so weak he would have surrendered to the French.

[RonF]

Democracy in action. Messy, disorganized, and inefficient. But in the end everyone feels that they've had their say and been listened to, and they have a stake in the outcome. Two years from now the extra 60 days this took will be immaterial.

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

Al Malicki? didn't he have a deli in New Jersey for awhile?
(kidding)

[moose2004]

"This is interesting. It could be he is acceptable because it was necessary for the Sunnis to win a battle and ousting the PM was the victory. They appear to have successfully accomplished something meaningful, even if it acutually is not really so important."

Bert, I think you got it exactly right. The potential trouble with Al Maliki is his relationship with Al Sadr and Iran. I wonder if he is as close to the aforementioned as Al Jaafari is?

[Yardstick]

"He was elected chairman of the Joint Action Committee, a Damascas-based opposition coalition that led to the founding of the Iraqi National Congress"

The Iraqi National Congress is Ahmed Chalabi's group and, IIRC, quite secular. Al-Maliki's connection with it seems like a good thing.

[Chuck54]

ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.

Excellent point A51.

[ARealMothersSonForever]

"The Maliki madhab (Arabic ãÇáßí) is one of the four schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa and West Africa. Madhabs are not sects, but rather schools of jurisprudence. There is, technically, no rivalry or competition between members of varying madhabs, and indeed it would not be uncommon for followers of all four to be found in a randomly selected American or European mosque." dirka dirka dirka

[ARealMothersSonForever]

I do not know how to make arabic crap look like arabic crap. ãÇáßí

[ARealMothersSonForever]

I do not know how to make arabic crap look like arabic crap. ãÇáßí

[jmc1969]

al-Maliki is a far more hard line then Jaafari and he was head of the de-Baathification commission. Unless they agreed to something with the Sunnis and Kurds under the table that we don't know about I can't see how he would be acceptable to them.

If there was no under the table deal I have a feeling we may see an attempted parlimentary coup tomorrow. With them voting down Maliki and quickly nominating someone like Madhi. Remember the Sunnis, Allawi, and Kurds have 53% of the vote.

[Marine_Uncle]

"...With them voting down Maliki and quickly nominating someone like Madhi. Remember the Sunnis, Allawi, and Kurds have 53% of the vote."
Thanks for the feedback. I can follow your path of reasoning.

[bnelson44]

Is he pro-Sistani or pro-Sadr?

[Waverunner]

Just a good ole boy of Shiite politics.

known as 'Bull' Malaki to his friends

[Marine_Uncle]

"Is he pro-Sistani or pro-Sadr?"
Well if he is Jaafari's right hand man out of the Dawa party, he is supported by Sadr. Sistani probably is groaning inside as he watches things develope. He is long on the record as opposing a sectarian based government. His record is clear, clerics should stay out of politics, and in short has verbally communicated his preference is a secular ran government.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Groan....guess we'll see what develops next....

When does the Parliament meet ?

[CdMGuy]

Not Polish - he is a Shriner from the Al Malicki Shrine. I saw him on TV last week at a parade riding around on one of those tiny motorcycles.

[EternalVigilance]

During the regime of Saddam Hussein, he lived in exile in Syria, where he headed the Dawa party office.

Cozy with the Syrian B'aathists?

[Wiz]

ping

[bnelson44]

Saturday

[Marine_Uncle]

"When does the Parliament meet ?"
I believe based on what we are reading today. They may meet Saturday or Sunday. Literallly days away at most, if nothing further puts a big happens to divert them once again. Perhaps jmc1969/Allegra will elucidate further.

[bnelson44]

This sounds promising:

Maliki, a leader in the Dawa party who spent years living in Shia-dominated Iran during Saddam Hussein’s rule, had previously been seen as an unlikely candidate for prime minister because he was widely viewed as a sectarian politician.

“When we heard Maliki was nominated we held discussions and decided we welcome him and we have informed the (Shia) Alliance,” Iyad Al Samarraie, a leading official in the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni bloc, told Reuters.

“We know he has made tough statements in the past but we have sat down with him for long periods of time and we feel he has a strong intention to treat the problems facing Iraq.”

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2006/April/focusoniraq_April130.xml&section=focusoniraq

[jmc1969]

It meets tomorrow.

[Captain Kirk]

Democracy in action? The Shi'ites had made their choice and we high-pressured them to reverse course because we thought it was the "wrong choice." How is that democracy?

[floridaobserver]

You have your facts wrong. The Shiites selected them, but did not have necessary 2/3 approval from the Iraqi Parliament.

This guy doesn't seem much better than the previous pro-Iranian guy.

Amazing how poorly Allawi and Chalabi (the pro-Western secular parties) did in the elections.

The country is effectively being run by the Ayatollah Sistani.

[Marine_Uncle]

Saturday. Roger that.

[jmc1969]

The IEC was controlled by the UIA. Basically, the election was rigged in much of southern Iraq.

[Marine_Uncle]

"Democracy in action?"
Yes. It is democracy in action. Please remember. Jaafari won the PM post by one vote. It has been shown where the Dawa party helped by a lot of different Shia groups rigged the votes in his favor over a much better candidate, the SCIRI parties Mahdi. Who is for secular goverance. It as that close.
And many Sunni and Kurds would had gone along with Mahdi being the PM.
Now. You are folling this stuff, so surely you also know that the big scream that Jaafari should resign earlier on, came from Iraqi of all flavors. He has did little to give the defense minister and interior minister more lee way in going after all factions of the insurgency as well as putting the foot down on the shia based militas.
So as the US saw the Iraqi people screaming for Jaafari to go, Condi/Straw/Khalilad stepped in to say something had to be done to ease the strained relations between many of the large and diverse parties.
Jaafari has shown he is not the right guy for the job, and a large segment of the Iraqi have made it known they wanted him out.
But we must take note. They are by selecting an alternative candidate which can meet the approval of the majority across party lines, showing they are flexible enough to adjust in order to finally form a real permenent government. So there are at least two ways of looking at what is happening.
Notice the Dawa party is still getting to provide the PM post. I assume you are aware the SCIRI is larger and equally sectarian (Shia) in many ways. So at least attempt to think through the scenarios. I am not against your position, just wonder if you are following things as close as some.

[conservative blonde]

The MSM just wants to keep Iraq from forming a government because the longer the wait the worse they can paint Bush and talk about all the "mistakes" that were made. If indeed this man is acceptable it means the MSM will have lost a strong talking point against Bush.

[strategofr]

"Amazing how poorly Allawi and Chalabi (the pro-Western secular parties) did in the elections."

A freeper (sorry, can't remember who) who seemed extremely knowledgeable said that the U. S. considered supporting a Allawi financially in the elections---but decided against it to avoid the appearance of creating a puppet government etc. Meanwhile, the Iranians heavily supported his opponents, and he lost badly.

Personally, I believe Allawi is a great patriot, a brave man, and a smart man. Unfortunately, it looks like his time has passed.

"The country is effectively being run by the Ayatollah Sistani."

If not the Iranians themselves.

[Democracy In Iraq]

Pretty decent progress in the middle of a civil war.

[floridaobserver]

"The decisive intervention may have been the reported signal from, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's leading Shi'ite spiritual authority. Sistani had refrained from intervening on the question of the nominee, although he had insisted that the Shi'ite bloc remain united at all costs. But a meeting Wednesday by UN representative Ashraf Qazi with the cleric, who refuses to talk to U.S. officials, may have prompted him to act out of concern over growing sectarian violence" Time Magazine


Sistani is calling all the shots in Iraq. Yet he is too important and proud to even MEET with any Americans.

We are being played for fools in Iraq, no question. No wonder President Bush is at 30 percent approval rating!

[RonF]

The "high-pressure" was from the Sunnis and the Kurds, who didn't want the man, and had the votes to keep him from becoming Prime Minister.

The Shiites thought they were still in a tribal system, where the strongest tribe gets to put their man in. Under Iraq's new democratic system, as the leading party they got to try to put their man in. However, that system also gives Parliament the final say. And since the Shiites have a plurality but not a majority, they needed Sunni and Kurd votes to get their man in. When they couldn't, they had to make a change. The U.S. pressure was to get the Shiites to recognize how the system worked and that lacking an absolute majority they couldn't govern in defiance of the other parties. But the real issue was the votes, and the Shiites didn't have enough.

[floridaobserver]

Sistani has no trouble meeting with Iranian officials, that is for sure.

former adviser to the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, Michael Rubin, said yesterday that he did not expect the new government that would likely form to last long.

"This is going to be a race between Iraq and Italy for which government will fall sooner," Mr. Rubin said. "It does not take much to vote no confidence in the government. At best the new candidate is the caretaker candidate."

As for the likelihood of Mr. al-Adeeb to emerge as prime minister, Mr. Rubin said that any candidate who replaced Mr. Jaafari would have likely ended up on good terms with the mullahs who run Iran. "Anyone from Jaafari's Dawa Party is going to be to some extent pro-Iranian," Mr. Rubin said.

[InterceptPoint]

Al Malicki

Let's break that down into good old English:

Al-Mal-Icki

Al as in Al Capone

Mal as in Latin for bad

Icki as in yucky and a reminder of Harold Ickes

This guy has not been blessed with a name like Tom Cruise or Robert Redford. But I wish him luck. He has a tough and dangerous job and we need him to succeed.

[ohhhh]

Al-Maliki was a top official in the commission in charge of purging members of Saddam's ousted Baath Party from the military and government. Sunnis, who made up the backbone of the Baath Party,

Interesting.

[ohhhh]

Al-Maliki was a top official in the commission in charge of purging members of Saddam's ousted Baath Party from the military and government. Sunnis, who made up the backbone of the Baath Party,

Interesting.

[elfman2]

"Democracy in action? The Shi'ites had made their choice and we high-pressured them to reverse course because we thought it was the "wrong choice." How is that democracy?"

As I understand it, we applied virtually no pressure until progress forming the unity government stopped for more than a month and sectarian attacks grew. There were reports that Sistani was surprised by our lack of interference, but very upset last month that we began to pressure for other candidates (refusing to open a personal letter from Bush).

It’s democracy in action, but we pressured it to stay in action rather than fall behind the curve of violence.

[elfman2]

"Al-Maliki was a top official in the commission in charge of purging members of Saddam's ousted Baath Party from the military and government. Sunnis, who made up the backbone of the Baath Party, Interesting.

Yea, sounds like the kind of job one can use for personal advancement.