Karate-D

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Influential Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr denies he opposed moves by MPs of Sunni-backed Iraqiya faction to bring down Shiite premier. Middle East Online BAGHDAD - Influential Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Wednesday that his parliamentary bloc would back a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki if that gave it the support of a majority of MPs. In the latest twist in a political crisis that has dogged Iraq ever since US troops completed a pullout in December, Sadr denied that he opposed moves by MPs of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya faction to bring down the Shiite premier. "This is not true," Sadr said in a written answer to a question from one of his followers. "I promised my partners that if they got 124 votes, I will complete the 164 votes," he added, referring to the 40 MPs who belong to his parliamentary bloc. Under the Iraqi constitution, a no confidence motion can be put before parliament either by the president or by 50 MPs. To pass, it must be approved by an absolute majority in the 325-seat parliament. Maliki's critics in Iraqiya, who accuse him of monopolising decision-making in the hard-won national unity government, have called in recent weeks for a vote on a motion of no confidence in the premier after the party abandoned an earlier boycott of both parliament and the cabinet. The political crisis took on a sectarian edge when, days after the Iraqiya walkout from parliament in December, the Shiite-led government issued an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi on charges he ran a death squad. Hashemi says the charges are politically motivated. http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=52573

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Please stop bringing up this thread, it has been around for over a week and It was irrevelent then, and even more so now.

It should say 8 trillion Dinars instead of Dollars. They seem to do this alot of the time in these news articles.

Powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr opposes toppling the Iraqi government but discussed during a visit to Kurdistan not renewing the premier's mandate, Sadr Movement officials said on Friday. Sadr arrived in the autonomous Kurdistan region on Thursday, presenting himself as a mediator in a crisis between Kurdistan president Massud Barzani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and top Kurdistan officials in Arbil on Friday, a statement on the Iraqi presidency's website said. “Moqtada al-Sadr discussed a number of issues during his visit to the Kurdistan region, among them not renewing (the mandate of) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki,” who is currently in his second term as premier, said Dhia al-Assadi, secretary general of Sadr's Al-Ahrar parliamentary bloc. Sadr emphasised the neutrality of his movement, and “called for supporting the current government and not overthrowing it, on the condition that all Iraqis should participate in it,” said Assadi. Sadr also “emphasised the main ideology of the Sadr Movement, which is based on the necessity of providing services to Iraqis and taking care of Iraqis, and that Iraq's wealth be for all Iraqis,” Assadi said. Other issues discussed included “the problem between the head of the (Kurdistan) region and the federal government and the other political problems.” Another high-ranking Sadr Movement official confirmed that Sadr had discussed not renewing Maliki's mandate, but said there was no agreement on the issue, as it requires a law to be approved by parliament. “The prime minister already announced on more than one occasion his intention to not be a candidate for a third term and called for limiting the mandate of the prime minister to two terms,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Sadr met in Arbil on Friday with Talabani, Barzani, the region's prime minister Nechirvan Barzani and other officials, according to the statement on the presidency's website. Those at the meeting “emphasized the necessity of putting in place a full national program where the higher interests of the Iraqi people have the upper hand over sectarian and party interests,” it said. Maliki said in a 2011 interview with AFP that he would not seek a third term, and that he supported constitutionally limiting a premier to two terms. He first took office in 2006, and gained another term in 2010 after more than nine months of political deadlock and wrangling that followed inconclusive parliamentary polls. His second term expires in 2014. Tensions remain high between Kurdistan chief Barzani and Maliki. Barzani said on Sunday that he opposed the sale of F-16 warplanes to Iraq while Maliki is premier, as he fears they would be used against Kurdistan. The Kurdish leader had previously accused Maliki of moving towards dictatorship, and said the premier aimed to “kill the democratic process” after the head of Iraq's electoral commission was arrested for alleged corruption. http://www.tehrantimes.com/middle-east/97325-sadr-against-fall-of-current-iraqi-government

This was already posted by yota at 8:50 a.m., please help keep the forums clean and check before you post.