Problems deepen for Iraqi prime minister (AP)

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Problems deepen for Iraqi prime minister

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jun 16, 3:15 AM ET

BAGHDAD - For Iraq's embattled prime minister, the Askariya
shrine bombing could not have come at a worse time and could
end up bringing down Nouri al-Maliki's unpopular government.

Al-Maliki had sufficient troubles before suspected al-Qaida-
linked Sunni militants brought down the Shiite shrine's two
minarets Wednesday in the second such attack on the site in
nearly 16 months.

"Now, this government is in a race against time," said Ali
al-Adeeb, a top Shiite lawmaker close to the prime minister.
"The government is going through a critical phase and there
are real fears that things can spiral out of control," he
said, noting heightened political tensions after the bombing
in Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

-snip-

Al-Maliki's domestic backers, the Shiites and Kurds, are growing
unhappier by the day about the decision-making monopoly the
prime minister and close aides have accrued to themselves.

They may not act against him now, but they may be emboldened
soon given his vulnerability and the unusually harsh criticism
of the government over the bombing by Iraq's top Shiite cleric,
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose every word is waited on by
Iraq's Shiites.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070616/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_al_maliki_in_trouble

[glowing]

1. What a mess over there. What a mess over here.

How in the world are we ever going to repair all this damage?