Inside President Obama's Push for Regime Change in Iraq
Last edited Mon Aug 11, 2014, 08:26 PM - Edit history (1)
Andy Carvin @acarvin 1h
Exclusive: Inside Obamas Push for Regime Change in Iraq http://shar.es/1nWuEs via @elilake
____ No, Obama has not proposed toppling Iraqs government by force like his predecessor once did. But the president has instructed his diplomats in Washington and Baghdad to find an alternative to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Since June those diplomats have quietly supported a member of Malikis own political party to be the next prime minister. On Sunday, the effort appeared to pay off, when a majority of Shiite politicians threw their weight behind Haidar al-Abadi, leading to Iraqs president to instruct him to begin forming a new government.
We have been working very quietly on the ground and sending messages to various parties that al-Abadi is a viable alternative, one U.S. official told The Daily Beast.
The American pushwhich has not been previously reportedwasnt the only factor that led to al-Abadis rise. Iraqs deterioration in recent months led some of Malikis Shi'ite backers to pull their support of him. Last month, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the most senior cleric of the Shi'ite sect, wrote a letter to Maliki asking him not to seek a third term as prime minister.
But al-Abadi has been the United States preferred candidate since late June to replace Maliki, a man who Obama himself blamed over the weekend for creating the conditions for the current catastrophe that is engulfing Iraq. U.S. and Iraqi officials tell The Daily Beast that U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Robert Beecroft and Brett McGurk, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran, have pushed Iraqi politicians behinds the scenes to consider al-Abadi as a new Iraqi head of state . . .
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/11/exclusive-inside-obama-s-push-for-regime-change-in-iraq.html
The White House Blog @blog44 4m
President Obama Discusses the Latest Developments in Iraq - Watch: