Do you remember the guy who was wanted for murder and pinned under the thumb of the US military in Najaf a couple years ago? He was the hothead cleric we all wanted to avoid, and we were hoping that Sistani could keep him at heel enough to do the sensible thing and get someone like Allawi or maybe even Chalabi in there and running things like our good like patronage bitch. But whatever we did, we certainly didn't want this guy anywhere near the rudders of power in Iraq when we were done with it:
Pressure has been mounting on the Shiites to replace al-Jaafari, whom critics accuse of failing to curb sectarian tension that has soared since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, which triggered a wave of reprisal attacks against Sunnis.
...
The Shiites, however, are maneuvering carefully because they suspect the Sunnis and Kurds want more of a role in the new government than they would be entitled to based on their showing in the December election.
Sumaidaie, a Sunni Arab, told CNN that while "electoral results could not be ignored totally," it may be necessary to allocate positions "to make sure that everybody's on board."
Al-Jaafari won the nomination in a vote last February by Shiite lawmakers due to strong support from radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The mercurial young cleric, who heads the dreaded Mahdi Army militia, has vowed to stand behind the incumbent.
With little progress on the political front, Iraq's slide toward chaos continued. [emph all me, baby]
If I have this right, the primary thing that is keeping our President from backing out of Iraq like a Northside alderman from a Southside hooker's apartment is Moqtada al-Sadr. And where are Allawi and Chalabi? Not involved with anyone who matters for anything, I can tell you that.
The project for Iraq has been run like an Icelandic creole joint.
Recent Comments