THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, TENTH THREAD.

I can't see how a new government can be formed soon. It has just adjourned until such time as all parties can agree to the key people. How likely that that will happen quickly?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Political Impasse Delays Iraq Parliament By VANESSA ARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 55 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's parliamentary speaker on Sunday postponed a planned legislative session "for a few days," signaling that talks among political leaders had achieved no breakthrough on finding someone to head the next government.

Also Sunday, the U.S. military said four Marines were killed during combat the day before in the volatile Anbar province west of Baghdad as the number of American service members killed so far this month rose to nearly 50 following a sharp drop in March.

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The Shiite's joined in the game of rejecting nominees of other parties.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/17/ap/world/mainD8H1E0E80.shtml

Quote:

The bitter fight over al-Jaafari has heightened friction among the rival parties, raising the spectre of deadlock over other top jobs. Some Shiite officials say that if they must change their nominee for prime minister, other parties may not win approval of their first choices for major posts either.

For example, the Shiites rejected the Sunni nominee for parliament speaker, Tariq al-Hashimi. Disputes also emerged Sunday over the two deputy speakers and two vice presidents _ jobs expected to go to Sunnis and Kurds.

"This delay will affect everything," Sunni lawmaker Naseer al-Ani said. "The Shiites did not tell us the reasons behind rejecting al-Hashimi like we did about al-Jaafari. We're still waiting to hear the reasons."

Pressure has been mounting on the Shiites to replace al-Jaafari, whom critics accuse of failing to curb sectarian tension that has soared since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, which triggered a wave of reprisal attacks against Sunnis.

Shiite politicians not affiliated with major parties have proposed that al-Jaafari step aside in favor of another candidate from his Dawa party. In return, the biggest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, would not push Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi for the post.

However, Dawa leaders complained of interference by outsiders and insisted they should decide al-Jaafari's fate, according to several Shiite officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were at a sensitive stage.

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I read in one of the major newspapers that they are going to try to impose a tit for tat; that is, One party didn't get to have their first choice, so the other party(ies?) can't have their first choices for the key positions.

Insisting that everyone be in agreement about the key leadership spots before the parliament reconvenes - all this will delay things as well.

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Can you imagine the headaches the US would have if our government system was set up like the coalition forces set up Iraq's?

Personally I don't blame the Shiite's in this instance. If they roll over now, they will cede control to the Kurds and Sunnis and will lose face and the respect from the very people who elected them in the first place. At least this way it will not look like they are having to bow to the wishes of the other parties if they make demands in return.

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All parties are learning the political game now, that is for sure.

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sumac wrote:

All parties are learning the political game now, that is for sure.

Now here's a sentence we can all agree on. Short but sweet. Who knows whats going to happen next?

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Shiite leaders firmly support al-Jaafari for another term

Quote:

Iraq's Dawa party will offer another nominee if prime minister steps down

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The political snarl over choosing Iraq's new government tightened Monday as Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's party indicated it was standing firm for him to keep the post for a second term despite opposition from Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

Ali al-Adeeb, a top official in the Dawa party, said the group would not put forward anyone else as the Shiite Muslim nominee for premier unless al-Jaafari decided to step aside.

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Yesterday Iraqi and American forces sealed off a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. Fighting began. Iraqi militiamen came in from the outside and joined the fighting.

This, from Reuters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060418/ts_nm/iraq_insurgents_dc

"Baghdad street battle smacks of open civil war By Omar al-Ibadi
54 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snipers held rooftop positions as masked Sunni Arab insurgents said they were gearing up for another open street battle with pro-government Shiite militiamen in Baghdad's Adhamiya district on Tuesday.

The Arab Sunni stronghold is still feeling ripples from overnight clashes on Monday that appeared to be the closest yet to all-out sectarian fighting."

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Came in? Snuck in? Who let them in a sealed off neighborhood?

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Drop the 'neighbor' and go from there Suz .....

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Oh yeah. And we are complicit, as usual.

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That isn't sarcastic. I am serious.

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This just posted by the AP a few minutes ago:

"Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari insisted Wednesday he will be the Shiite nominee for a new term, saying it is "out of the question" that he will step down. Al-Jaafari's comments, made in a nationally televised press conference, mean the deadlock over the premiership likely will continue.

Sunni and Kurdish objections to al-Jaafari have stalled efforts to form a unity government four months after national elections.

"As a matter of principle, I think the idea of making a concession is, for me at least, out of the question," al-Jaafari said.

The prime minister said he still enjoys the support of the Shiite alliance, the dominant bloc in parliament, despite a few public calls from within for him to step aside.

Al-Jaafari has said repeatedly he was nominated democratically and parliament will decide whether to approve him."

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some people say there are flowers in the streets all over Iraq.

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This is a very interesting account of the historical, political, and familial differences within Shiites, and goes to the very heart of what is happening in Iraq. It has nothing to do with religious differences amongst Shiites, and very little to do with the Americans. Also interesting, Sunnis, in the streets, refer to Shiites as "Iranians". This explains why.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801625.html?referrer=email&referrer=email

"At Heart of Iraqi Impasse, a Family Feud
Militia-Backed Shiite Factions Vie for Political Dominance

By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; A01

NAJAF, Iraq -- On one side of the grinding political deadlock over who should lead Iraq's next government is a plain-spoken cleric with the puffed cheeks and patchy beard of youth, a fiery icon of the downtrodden with an exalted family name: al-Sadr.

On the other is a wizened mullah from the clerical old guard, whose al-Hakim clan founded Iraq's largest political party and whose scholarly air belies a reputation for ruthlessness.

Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim head the two leading dynasties of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, whose spiritual home is this ancient southern city. They operate the country's two largest Shiite militias -- the Mahdi Army and the Badr Brigade, respectively -- each with more than 10,000 men under arms. And they are heirs to rival movements that for generations have competed, sometimes violently, for supremacy in the hearts and minds of their long-persecuted people."

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This article is also very interesting, if for no other reason than showing that no one knows what is going on.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801630.html

"Mystery Hangs Over Baghdad Battle
Conflicting Accounts Obscure Even Identity of Combatants in 2 Days of Street Fighting

By Nelson Hernandez and Bassam Sebti
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; Page A10

BAGHDAD, April 18 -- As the shooting died down Tuesday afternoon, the tired and frightened residents of Baghdad's Adhamiyah neighborhood packed their cars and prepared to flee. After two days of street fighting that had kept them locked in their houses, they did not want to see what might come next.

The details of the unusual street battle that began Monday remained shrouded by the fog of war. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers thought they were shooting at insurgents who were trying to ambush them. Local men on neighborhood watch in the predominantly Sunni Arab area thought they were shooting at Shiites who were coming to kidnap and kill them. Residents hiding in their homes, simply praying for survival, could only guess who was fighting whom.

"As far as I know, a group of militants went inside and there was fighting with the residents of Adhamiyah, and later on, the police were involved and the MNF-I were involved," said Adnan Ali al-Kadhimi, an adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari, referring to Multi-National Forces-Iraq, the official name for foreign troops in the U.S.-led military coalition here. "We don't have a clear picture of what's happening there." "

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dyslexia wrote:

some people say there are flowers in the streets all over Iraq.

Amazing use of plastique would'nt you say Dys ...

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I would hope that some would read those articles, as well as being flip.

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7 entries found for humor.
hu·mor Audio pronunciation of "humor" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hymr)
n.

1. The quality that makes something laughable or amusing; funniness: could not see the humor of the situation.
2. That which is intended to induce laughter or amusement: a writer skilled at crafting humor.
3. The ability to perceive, enjoy, or express what is amusing, comical, incongruous, or absurd. See Synonyms at wit1.

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THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ, TENTH THREAD.

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