Hot off the wire

[krull]

Categorized | Communications

Al-Maliki Victory Drawing Nearer

Posted on 11 October 2010.

Under the watchful eye of Saudi King Abdullah and his intelligence chief, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is drawing nearer to winning enough support to form a government.

Al-Maliki is pushing his momentum gained from his recent near-miss in parliament by appealing to all rival parties to show “flexibility and realism”, reports the Tehran Times. He showed no signs of giving way. “All of us, from all affiliations, have to sit together and talk and talk, even if it takes longer, until we reach a meeting point,” he said to opposing Sunni tribal leaders in Baghdad.

Tehran Times says this is a “hint at growing confidence by al-Maliki that he’s in a position to call the shots over possibly forming a new government and dividing up the key posts and Cabinet seats among the country’s three main factions: majority Shias, Sunnis and Kurds.”

Having won over previous opposition from a Shia faction he’s now looking to Kurdish parties. If he can convince them to back him he will gain a majority in parliament. This is despite the rival Sunni bloc coming top in the spring vote. It has been unable to find enough partners to push Al-Maliki aside.

Foreign powers are showing continued interest in the ongoing contest. USA Vice President Joe Biden called President Barzani, head of the Kurdistan region, to confirm that the United States supported a government formed from national partnerships that reflect the results of the election, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government. However, Mr Biden said in the conversation that the USA does not support any individual candidates.

Former Iraq PM Iyad Allawi was at a meeting over Iraq’s political situation with King Abdullah, the intelligence chief and Saudi amabassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir, according to AFP.

Analysts believe that al-Maliki is too close to Iran for Saudi Arabia’s tastes. Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc received two more seats than Al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance in the election, but the two sides were unable to come to a deal, despite Saudi Arabia’s worries that it is necessary to prevent instability.

Echoing America, a Saudi official said: “Choosing a prime minister is an issue for the Iraqi people.”

With a Kurdish political negotiator saying his bloc is close to a deal with Al-Maliki, this is sure to anger Sunnis, writes Gulf News. One of the key issues was making a priority the return of land to Kurdish people who were pushed out during Saddam Hussain’s regime. However, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari is not so positive: “We are not very close to the final solution,” he said.

Even so, Al-Maliki looks increasingly like the man to form the next Iraq government.

[ThePeoplesChamp]

Thanks for the Post!!!

gooo rv!!!

[Dianne]

Thanks for the post!

[MicBain]

keywords "even if it takes longer"

[thegente]

I guess they got tired of using "soon", "imminent", "2 days", and "in the coming weeks".

[Bobbydee]

Alright already let's getter done. Looking forward to the end of this wild ride. Thanks for the post. God Bless Semper Fi

[jcav]

I guess they got tired of using "soon", "imminent", "2 days", and "in the coming weeks".

Funny. I am tired of hearing it too.

[Traconesu02]

Thanks for the post krull

[DaveH]

Funny. I am tired of hearing it too.

For sure...who isn't

[mi17mech]

Well I hope they get done soon. Like YESTERDAY already

GO RV

[Mr.B.]

Yeah I'm like you guys, let's go RV. Let the UN work it out,show me the RV.

[Mongo]

I guess they got tired of using "soon", "imminent", "2 days", and "in the coming weeks".

Imminent?........ Is that a colon cleansing

[cgbrown]

Imminent?........ Is that a colon cleansing

That can't be good.

[JugDawg1]

Imminent?........ Is that a colon cleansing

If Iraq had a colon cleansing, they would have to find a whole new set of politicians. Good idea.

[krull]

[Mongo]

I LOOKED IT UP.......colon cleansing>>>>>>>>>>.... oh .......ENEMA

[MovieMaker]

thanks for the post!

[RAB42]

thanks for the work...

[vianney71]

I LOOKED IT UP.......colon cleansing>>>>>>>>>>.... oh .......ENEMA

Remember the line about the Kellogg Institute.. We will be giving you 5 gal. of coffee each day

"Buy, I can't drink 5 gal of coffee...

Don't worry, you won't have to DRINK it.

If this works with their parlament, we should give the Dem's in Congress the same 5 gal treatment

[JugDawg1]

Remember the line about the Kellogg Institute.. We will be giving you 5 gal. of coffee each day

"Buy, I can't drink 5 gal of coffee...

Don't worry, you won't have to DRINK it.

If this works with their parlament, we should give the Dem's in Congress the same 5 gal treatment

Thanks for that V. Now I have to wipe all the coffee off my computer screen. Yes it came out of my mouth.

[onerighthand]

Thanks for the post!

[Guest Ratatap]

If Iraq had a colon cleansing, they would have to find a whole new set of politicians. Good idea.

We definitely need a colon cleansing here in the US !!!!!! When in doubt vote them out!!!!!!

GO RV !!!!!

[pourit]

I do know this...if God were going to give the world an ennema...I think he would put the plug in Maliki.POURITFORWARD

[krull]

Jug Your funny

[JugDawg1]

Krull, if I don't joke about this stuff, I just get in trouble. I learned a long time ago the difference between being serious and being sincere. Both ways are just as dedicated to the cause but the serious are the white knuckled folks and the sincere are the ones that enjoy the ride and WHAT A RIDE IT IS. YA BUDDY!!!