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After the vote: Iraq’s familiar deadlock
The view from Egypt.
[AlAhram] Iraq’s factions are poised for a prolonged political stalemate ahead of forming a new government following indecisive parliamentary elections

The elections were widely seen by many as a contest pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Iran. The results of the vote will deepen the polarisation and escalate the US-Iranian struggle for influence in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi suffered a stunning electoral loss to his key Shia rivals after his political bloc failed to achieve the majority of the votes in Iraq’s parliamentary elections this week.

Al-Abadi’s failure to form a new government is widely seen as a severe setback to the United States and its Sunni Arab allies, which had hoped the incumbent prime minister could rein in the Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq and act as a bulwark against Tehran’s increasing influence in the country.
Posted by: trailing wife 2018-05-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=514896