Iraq’s Maliki Seen as Flawed Champion to Fight Al-Qaeda
By Nayla Razzouk - Jan 15, 2014
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s self-portrayal as the only viable barrier against a resurgent al-Qaeda has won support from the U.S. and Iran. Critics say he can’t solve the problem because he’s part of it.
Maliki urged residents of Fallujah in Anbar province on Jan. 8 to join government forces massing outside the city, held by al-Qaeda and allied forces since the previous week. The 63-year-old premier is receiving air-to-ground missiles and other equipment from the U.S., and has received offers of military aid from Iran, America’s main Middle Eastern foe.
Domestic opponents and analysts at Human Rights Watch and the London-based Royal United Services Institute say policies implemented by the Shiite-dominated government have enabled al-Qaeda’s revival among Iraq’s Sunni minority. With an election scheduled for April in the oil-rich nation, sectarian division is only likely to increase, they say.
Maliki’s opponents “don’t trust him, he has failed to keep promises and the whole sectarian conflict is of his making,” Gareth Stansfield, RUSI’s Middle East director, said in a telephone interview. Still, “Maliki is the least-worst scenario for the U.S., given the lack of other options.”
Maliki will seek to extend his eight years in office on April 30, battling for votes in a fractured political scene that includes 142 political groups representing Iraq’s Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-15/iraq-s-maliki-seen-as-flawed-champion-to-fight-al-qaeda.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
