Urgent .. Parliament session postponed half an hour due to lack of quorum

[coorslite21]

They just had the wrong Allawi.......it should have been Ayad......he got screwed over in 2010....

 

Of course there's the whole Shite...Sunni....Kurd stuff to consider as well........

 

Wonder at what point the Generals will step in......?

CL

[tigergorzow]

Allawi Withdraws Candidacy for Iraq’s Prime Minister Post

 

 BasNews  02/03/2020 - 00:18  Published in Iraq

 

 

 

 

Details to follow...

 

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/585656

[Laid Back]

For the GOI Power and Greed are more important than Iraq and their citizens.

 

I vote for new Sanctions to iraq politicians 

 

No fully seated government

No Stability

No RV 

 

[6ly410]

4 hours ago, 6ly410 said:

As a result of which, Abdul Mahdi may stay in power until the next elections are held.

 

[6ly410]

The Kurds love Mahdi..let’s go power sharing 

[Kenny_Logins]

Everything is calculated strategy. When two thirds of parliament abstains, everyone involved -- including Allawi -- had to have known it was coming.

 

This short lived Hope-and-Change affair with Allawi was always just a stepping stone to another phase. We won't understand the strategies of any of these parties until we see their next actions.

 

My theory is Allawi may have been honest about his intentions, but he was still used as a pacifier for the protesters. Meanwhile the currency auctions continue.

 

I'd love to see the protesters borrow the strategy the Mongols used in the siege of Caffa in 1346 when they catapulted plague infested bodies over the city walls. Instead the protesters could throw petri dishes full of coronavirus at parliament and militia members. Maybe use Corona beer bottles for full effect.

 

 

 

[CSM (R) Thack]

Months of protests, hundreds dead, thousands injured, and “this” is the result! No real change will occur until it is “FORCED” upon them!!👍🇺🇸

[Kenny_Logins]

3 minutes ago, CSM (R) Thack said:

Months of protests, hundreds dead, thousands injured, and “this” is the result! No real change will occur until it is “FORCED” upon them!!👍🇺🇸

 

I don't think coronavirus is going to discourage the protesters from gathering again. If armed militias firing rifle rounds directly at them isn't going to impede them, neither will a mutated flu bug.

[3n1]

not to be a downer but nothing new here helen keller ray charles and stevie wonder could see this coming from a mile away ....we wait 

[tigergorzow]

Monday, 02 March 2020 12:15 AM

 

 

Abdel-Mahdi denies his intention to continue as prime minister after March 2

 

 

 

The media office of the resigned Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, denied informing the latter of political or other blocs about a new position on his intention to continue to head the government until after March 2.

The media office said in a press release that Abdel Mahdi's position is the same as that which was officially announced in his message to the parliament on February 19.

He added, "Abdul-Mahdi will announce his official position after the deadline he set then expires, which ends on March 2

 

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/ar/Story/190903/عبد-المهدي-ينفي-نيته-الاستمرار-في-رئاسة-الحكومة-بعد-2-مارس

[6ly410]

 

[CSM (R) Thack]

27 minutes ago, 3n1 said:

not to be a downer but nothing new here helen keller ray charles and stevie wonder could see this coming from a mile away ....we wait 

Agreed!!!👍🇺🇸

[ChuckFinley]

51 minutes ago, Laid Back said:

For the GOI Power and Greed are more important than Iraq and their citizens.

 

I vote for new Sanctions to iraq politicians 

 

No fully seated government

No Stability

No RV 

 

As well as pressuring the CBI with the Auctions and the USD. I would really like go cut that off. 

[Karsten]

So any idea how far this will set things back?

 

Karsten

[ChuckFinley]

2 minutes ago, Karsten said:

So any idea how far this will set things back?

 

Karsten

I was considering posting a Adam question that at the time of his next posting where does he see us now, what are we looking for (80% of some GOI)  and  if he has any good info that he could share or post in VIP.

[horsesoldier]

1 hour ago, TexasMike1958 said:

Last Tuesday, articles were posted  here that basically said this new Cabinet would be approved with no issues......what the hell happened???
 

 

They're pathological liars . . . I learned a very long time ago these are people not to be trusted  . . . at all, on any issue.

[md11fr8dawg]

And the hits just keep on coming sports fans. These fools could ruin an aquatic dream!!!

[Laid Back]

24 minutes ago, ChuckFinley said:

As well as pressuring the CBI with the Auctions and the USD. I would really like go cut that off. 

Agreed my friend CF.

Lets see who is the next Guinea Pig for the PM position.

[Hotcurl]

I wish that I could say that I'm "surprised" by this, but frankly, I would have been more "surprised", if Allawi had been able to get his cabinet seated and his government formed on schedule.

As mentioned above, earlier this week, I was cautiously hopeful with the announcement that, 200+ members of Parliament were going to vote in favor of the Allawi cabinet.  

Perhaps this is part of "the plan" ??

 

All I can say is, this is not part of my "plan" ..........

 

On a positive note - I have a hard time believing that a bunch of myopic Iraqi bureaucrats and floundering Iranians can continue to "dictate reality" for much longer.

There are too many other powers currently at play in Iraq ie, IMF, World Bank the EU, China and the US.

 

Semper Fi

Show me 'da

 

[Dinarrock]

14 minutes ago, Laid Back said:

Agreed my friend CF.

Lets see who is the next Guinea Pig for the PM position.

And there is the issue it doesn’t matter who the PM is because most all in Parliament are corrupt, they are all either paid off from Maliki or Iran or threatened to do what Iran wants..the good ones the few that are left I am sure their families are threatened with death if they don’t fall in line....what a bunch of corrupt POS losers the whole bunch of them are.. it will be a long long time until we see anything come from those worthless investment.. they all suck and I hope the protestors burn the whole place down...civil war is the only thing that will get rid of the corruption!

[markb57]

Like LB said. SANCTION every member of the govt, including all of parliament, every member down to floor cleaners. Sanction them all!!!

 

Give an ultimatum, as much as I hate them, call in the UN to step in and setup a whole new govt. This piss-ant country doesn't need 300+ members of parliament. 100 at best.

[Pitcher]

https://www.ecfr.eu/article/iraqs_unsustainable_status_quo#
 

Iraq's unsustainable status quo

Sajad Jiyad

As the problems facing Iraq continue to mount, the window of opportunity for undertaking deep and lasting reforms is closing fast. 

Since October, protesters on the streets of Iraq have used one slogan more than any other: “we want a homeland”. Despite hundreds of reported deaths and thousands of injuries, the Iraqi authorities have made no attempt to hold the sponsors of the violence accountable. And, as the number and intensity of the protests have dwindled, so has the likelihood that the government will engage in any substantial political reforms. Even after the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, the post-2003 political order remains unchanged. The prime minister-designate, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, now faces the unprecedented challenge of keeping the system intact while restoring trust in it among a thoroughly fed-up public.

Even as the situation calms momentarily, the fundamental causes of the protests remain. The demographic and economic challenges facing Iraq are so severe that, unless the political elite begin to engage in fundamental reform, the country will almost certainly experience another explosion of public anger and state repression.

So far, Allawi’s approach has been to force political parties to accept his independent government or risk creating a political vacuum. While it may be effective in making him prime minister, this strategy is far from acceptable to parties used to dominating the government. Nonetheless, if he is confirmed as prime minister, Allawi will have the advantage of low expectations: if his temporary administration can make progress on his declared mandate of holding early elections and restoring security, his term will be widely viewed as a success.

As public discourse has shifted in recent years away from identity politics and towards policy issues and grievances over poor governance, Iraqis from across the ethnic and sectarian spectrum have coalesced around a rejection of the status quo and a call for fundamental reforms to the political system. Crucially, the protests have taken place in areas of Iraq dominated by the country’s Shia majority, presenting the ruling elite with a challenge that had previously come only from Sunni and Kurdish communities. The authorities have been banned demonstrations in Sunni-majority areas, citing security concerns. The Kurdish Regional Government has relatively tight control of security and has performed better than the central government in creating a stable environment for its citizens, thereby preventing mass protests for now.

These internal pressures are compounded by the challenge of finding a suitable middle ground between Iran and the United States. Iraqi leaders are determined to avoid being drawn into a conflict between the two countries, and to exert control over internal security despite Iranian and US interference in Iraq’s affairs.

While they criticise foreign sponsorship of the corrupt political elite, the protesters see Iraqi politicians as primarily responsible for the lack of effective governance in Iraq

The protesters are similarly committed to ending Iranian and US influence on Iraqi politics. Due to the fact that Iran and the US have supported successive Iraqi governments and the broader political establishment throughout years of insurrections, referendums, and demonstrations, the protesters are highly critical of Middle East powers and the international community – especially these two countries, the most influential foreign actors in Iraq.

While they criticise foreign sponsorship of the corrupt political elite, the protesters see Iraqi politicians as primarily responsible for the lack of effective governance in Iraq. For the first time since 2003, ordinary Iraqis blame their own politicians more than foreign powers for this failure.

At the same time, while most of Iraq’s 40 million people may sympathise with the protesters, only a small portion of Iraqis have taken to the streets so far. The authorities’ brutal repression of the protests in the past few months is one reason why the number of demonstrators has decreased.

In addition, there is a lack of a clear, realistic plan for reform of the system – and a leader to implement it – that the elite will accept. The protesters have not devised a way to maintain pressure for change on a decentralised central power that retains the weapons, influence, and privileges of a state bureaucracy. Because around 85 percent of the Iraqi population depend on some form of payment from the Iraqi government, concern about the stability of this rentier state economy prevents the protests from reaching the critical mass needed to sustain a successful reform movement.

Another factor that has dampened the protests is a sustained effort to contain and demoralise demonstrators, which has included moves by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that led to attacks on them in Baghdad and Najaf. While Sadr initially backed the protests, he has since reversed his position, purportedly because protesters attempted to enforce strikes and engaged in violence, which has tarnished their cause. Sadr has paida political price for this about-turn: some of his followers are frustrated with the move, and there is a widespread sense that he is playing both sides while attempting to avoid blame for the situation.

The Sadrists’ and other groups’ withdrawal of their logistical support for the protest movement has caused the number of demonstrators to dwindle during the winter months. So has the infiltration of the movement by various groups with suspected links to the state security services and the Popular Mobilisation Units, which seek to undermine its popular appeal.

Meanwhile, members of the political establishment have reacted by closing ranks and avoiding any substantial reforms that could weaken their grip on the Iraqi state. They outsourced the security response to armed actors that operate with impunity. This has contributed to a wider erosion of the rule of law that would impede serious reform efforts. Intent on clinging to their power and privilege, Iraq’s political parties are willing to use violence to keep their place in the ruling order.

Importantly, however, these moves have not addressed the grievances or sense of disenfranchisement of many young Iraqis. This is why the protests are likely to return despite the violent security response. Until the demonstrators feel satisfied that the elite are undertaking meaningful reforms to public services, governance, and the judicial system, the unrest will continue to simmer.

The only popular figure who has retained respect across Iraq is Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who has consistently supported the protests. Yet his repeated calls for the reform of the political establishment have largely fallen on deaf ears. So far, the only significant effect of his statements has been to extract Mahdi’s resignation as prime minister. There is a telling absence of a senior statesman able to form a consensus on reform and achieve a compromise between the protesters and the elite, while the fragmented nature of Iraqi politics means that any settlement on the way forward is unlikely to come from a leading politician.

For the moment, the political establishment aims to outlast public pressure to introduce deep reforms. It hopes to slowly make superficial changes that preserve its power. The prime minister-designate may position himself as an independent, but he will have to play by the rules of this game. He does so because he has too weak a political base to forge his own path and push the country towards genuine reform. As a consequence, he uses the threat from the protests to persuade the political elite to accept some cosmetic reforms and back him.

Countries that worry about the implications of such half-hearted reform – especially for Iraq’s stability and capacity to manage terrorist threats – need to carefully assess the benefits and risks of further involvement in Iraq. The European Union has primarily invested in security and humanitarian aid to the country since 2014, but this will not do much to address the systemic problems that are at the root of the protests. support for improved local governance will always be welcome, as will efforts to stimulate job creation and the training and development of young people who are desperate for a chance to provide for themselves.

Iraq’s security forces will also likely require foreign assistance for several more years, to sustain the effort to prevent the re-emergence of organisations such as the Islamic State group (ISIS). Currently, the EU contributes military and security assistance through the international coalition to counter ISIS and the NATO training programme. Both initiatives have been invaluable for increasing the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces but face the question of whether foreign troops can remain in Iraq. Beyond this, the EU and European governments must undertake an in-depth reassessment of their role in Iraq and confront the Iraqi political establishment with hard truths, conditioning their support on substantive reforms and improvements to international efforts that see billions of dollars spent in Iraq with little to show for it.

As the crises facing Iraq continue to mount, the window of opportunity for undertaking deep and lasting reforms is closing fast. Major challenges for the Iraqi state are accumulating at the economic, political, security, and societal levels. Many of these challenges will have consequences outside Iraq. Ultimately, the nation’s political elite will need to realise that, unless they engage in urgently needed reforms, they will continue to be part of the problem.

[ChuckFinley]

45 minutes ago, Laid Back said:

Agreed my friend CF.

Lets see who is the next Guinea Pig for the PM position.

I agree LB,  we are just going to have to see who the next Guinea Pig is going to be. 

[CSM (R) Thack]

11 minutes ago, Pitcher said:

Many of these challenges will have consequences outside Iraq. Ultimately, the nation’s political elite will need to realise that, unless they engage in urgently needed reforms, they will continue to be part of the problem.

Yeah... what’s the likelihood of that? 😡🤬

[markb57]

a very big thing that needs to be stopped and eliminated 100% are all the groups in the country. all the different blocs, groups, militias. ALL need to go away.