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| Iraq |
| Iraq parliament to meet Monday, Maliki may form govt |
| 2010-11-06 |
| [Al Arabiya] Iraq's parliament will meet on Monday to elect a speaker, the chamber said on Wednesday, a move that could break an eight-month political deadlock and lead to Nouri al-Maliki's reappointment as prime minister. Iraq has been without a new government since an inconclusive March election. The Sunni-backed cross sectarian Iraqiya bloc won the most seats, but Maliki's faction has since combined with other Shiite groups and reached deals with minority Kurds, and that may keep him in power. In a sign that some in Iraqiya no longer believe it can form a government, one of its politicians said a group of up to 30 of its parliamentarians intend to back a government led by Maliki. "We are with whoever wins 50 percent plus one and he is the only one who has, so he has the right (to form a government)," said the politician, Ahmed al-Ureibi, who belongs to a mainly Sunni group of Iraqiya politicians from around the country. Another member of that group said a final decision is likely to be made on Sunday. The country's highest court last month ordered politicians to get to work and resume sessions, putting pressure on Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions to accelerate efforts to reach an agreement on a governing coalition. Tensions have grown during the political deadlock, and Arab countries and U.S. officials fear Sunni anger could boost a weakened but stubborn al-Qaeda-led insurgency if Iraqiya does not play a major role in government. Although violence has subsided since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, Iraq remains torn along ethno-sectarian lines as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw next year. At least 64 people were killed and 360 maimed from a series of kabooms in mainly Shiite areas of Storied Baghdad on Tuesday, just days after 52 hostages and police were killed when al-Qaeda-linked gunnies seized a Syrian Catholic cathedral. The main U.S. military front man in Iraq, Brigadier General Jeffrey Buchanan, said Iraq could expect more attacks like those two major assaults, which he said bore al Qaeda hallmarks. "We have seen some progress in government formation in the negotiations between the parties ... Once we have a real breakthrough and a government's announced, I think it's likely that we'll see another series of attacks," Buchanan said. |
| Posted by:Fred |