Since I’ve had my head into the CIA story I have ignored some very important stories that I cannot ignore anymore.? The biggest being the new Iraqi PM.
A day after Russia tells the world that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war:
Russia today expressed serious concern over the current situation in Iraq, saying the country was now on the verge of a civil war.
”In Iraq, everything is on the verge of a civil war,” Russian Foreign Ministry Middle East and North Africa Department Deputy Director Oleg Ozerov said in his remark at an international conference on global security.
”We are concerned over the stalemate in forming the government in Iraq. Our opinion is that it is for Iraqis themselves to make decisions regarding the formation of the government, without outside pressure,” Mr Ozerov stressed.
And John Kerry tells the world that opposing the war for Democracy in Iraq, opposing the war against those who worked with Al-Qaeda….specifically Iraq, is patriotic:
“I have come here today to reaffirm that it was right to dissent in 1971 from a war that was wrong. And to affirm that it is both a right and an obligation for Americans today to disagree with a president who is wrong, a policy that is wrong, and a war in Iraq that weakens the nation,” Kerry said to a standing ovation Saturday at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall.
A new Prime Minister was chosen by Iraq breaking the stalemate and getting the new Democratic government on track:
Tough-talking Shi’ite Jawad al-Maliki was given the responsibility of forming a coalition government by Iraqi leaders yesterday, ending a four-month political deadlock that many feared could pitch the country into a sectarian civil war.
“We are going to form a family that will not be based on sectarian or ethnic backgrounds,” Mr. al-Maliki told reporters, seeking to shed a hard-line Shi’ite image and present himself as a prime minister able to unite Shi’ite Muslims, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
[…]President Bush hailed the Iraqi agreement on a ruling coalition as a historic achievement that “will make America more secure.”
“Formation of a new Iraqi government is an opportunity for America to open a new chapter in our partnership with the Iraqi people,” Mr. Bush said during a visit to Sacramento, Calif.
It appears not only did he get this nomination but it was by a landslide.? Six of the seven Shiite parties inside of the alliance supported him.
Added to this is the fact that since his appointment other key spots have been filled:
- Jalal Talabani – President of Iraq
- Tariq al-Hashimi and Adil Abdul-Mahdi – Vice Presidents
- Mahmoud al-Mashhadani – Parliamentary speaker
Here is some background on the new Prime Minister:
Al- Maliki earned a master?s degree in Arabic language and literature in northern Iraq.He worked in the Education Department in Hillah, according to accounts in Iraqi newspapers, before fleeing the country in 1979. He spent 23 years in exile from the Saddam regime, mostly in Syria.
Al-Maliki had been broadly considered one of the harder-line Shiite politicians, a world view shaped during those years of exile, when he ran the Damascus, Syria, branch of Dawa, a religious Shiite party. But perhaps as a measure of how little he is known, he is alternatively described as a hard-liner and a man able to compromise.
Since crossing back into Iraq secretly in late 2002, not long before the American invasion, he has played a prominent role in the independent de-Baathification committee, showing himself as an uncompromising proponent of policies that took members of the Baath regime out of public jobs and alienated many Sunni Arabs.
He was one of the main drafters of the country?s constitution last year, and it was during that time that he forged relationships with Kurdish parties.
See author page