Legacy of mistrust haunts new Iraqi government
The new Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is a necessary first step in the process of pulling the country back together and leading a united national drive to oust the Islamic State (IS) radicals. But its success is far from guaranteed.
With Sunnis and Kurds fairly represented alongside the Shia majority, the cabinet has been hailed by the Americans as the "inclusive" new administration for which they were hoping and pushing.
Both the Sunnis and the Kurds had pulled out of the outgoing government of Nouri Maliki, who was widely blamed - including by Washington - for precipitating the current crisis by monopolising power and pursuing sectarian policies which alienated and marginalised the Sunnis in particular, fuelling grievances which the IS militants were swift to exploit.
Success or failure for the Abadi government in the grand endeavour to uproot IS will hinge on the extent to which it can meet those grievances, and convince the Sunni communities in whose areas the militants have taken root that they will have a reliably better future if they turn against the radicals and join the broader drive to oust them.
Without that, the Americans will find themselves backing one side in what is already in many ways a vicious sectarian civil war, fulfilling the warning by the former US commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, that they could end up becoming the air force of the Shia militias.
That already happened 10 days ago, when US air strikes helped Iranian-backed Shia militias break the IS siege of the northern town of Amerli, with nominal support from Iraqi army forces and artillery backup from the Kurds.
Amerli may have been exceptional in that it is a Shia town. But Sunni villages around it, which had been caught up in the struggle and went along with IS whether they wanted to or not, have been trashed, and their inhabitants will never go back.
If the same formula is applied unchanged to the Sunni heartlands where IS has taken root, it will clearly be disastrous.
That is why the White House said, after a congratulatory phone call from US President Barack Obama to Prime Minister Abadi, that the two men had agreed on "the importance of having the new government quickly take concrete steps to address the aspirations and legitimate grievances of the Iraqi people ".
This was clearly a reference to the Sunnis, and implied recognition that to bring them fully on board, much more will have to be done than simply giving them some seats in government.
In the political programme he announced to parliament before presenting his ministers, Mr Abadi proposed widespread devolution to the provinces, including security, in which local people would be engaged in "forming national guards that will be the main pillar for security in the governorates".
Past grudges
If followed through swiftly and sincerely, measures proposed by Mr Abadi would go a long way towards meeting bitter Sunni complaints about marginalisation, victimisation and oppression.
But the legacy of mistrust is strong. Sunni tribal and former military rebels, who turned on al-Qaeda and expelled it from western Anbar province in 2007, felt betrayed when promises made by Baghdad were not fulfilled.
They say they are willing to join the campaign to oust IS now, but they want international guarantees of some sort that there will be a new deal for them, and that they will not be sidelined again.
Empowering the Sunnis to take on IS themselves, albeit with outside help, might mean that the Americans and others have to work with Sunni rebels who took up arms against them after 2003.
But they did that before, from 2007 on with the Awakening Councils - Sunni tribal militants who had been aligned to al-Qaeda but turned around.
The Shia militias for whom the Americans provided air cover at Amerli were the same who battled US troops on the ground - even abducting and killing American soldiers - during those same years.
All concerned seem willing to shelve past grudges to combat what they see as the bigger and more imminent and existential threat posed by IS.
For the Americans, and for the Iraqi Shia and Kurds, that may even mean working with Saddam Hussein's former Baathist adherents, who make up a significant part of the hard core of the Sunni nationalist rebellion.
All of this because the Iraqi army as such is currently in disarray, as evidenced by its spectacular collapse within hours when IS overran Mosul and much of the north in June. Reconstructing it into a cohesive fighting force is not something that can be done overnight.
To defend Baghdad and its approaches, Mr Maliki was forced to mobilise the same Shia militias against which he threw the Iraqi army into battle in 2008, under the slogan of "imposing the law".
Personal patronage
One of the first practical challenges still facing his successor, Mr Abadi, is to fill the key jobs of defence and interior ministers, which he had to leave open - he said for only a week - because there was no consensus on the candidates.
Defence had been expected to go to a Sunni, while the man most cited as the next interior minister, Hadi al-Amiri, is the leader of one of the Shia militias, the heavily Iranian-backed Badr organisation - something the Sunnis would clearly find hard to swallow.
The challenge will be to try to forge the military and security apparatus into truly national institutions, not sectarian fiefdoms.
Mr Maliki had kept his own hands firmly on the strings and built up a strong system of personal patronage in both ministries, including elite units - the Golden Brigades - answerable only to himself. He has now been made one of three Vice-Presidents, normally prestige posts with little real power. But one unanswered question is whether he may be able to use that base to continue pulling some of the security strings, especially if the new ministers fail to get a grip.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
--
The new Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is a necessary first step in the process of pulling the country back together and leading a united national drive to oust the Islamic State (IS) radicals. But its success is far from guaranteed.
With Sunnis and Kurds fairly represented alongside the Shia majority, the cabinet has been hailed by the Americans as the "inclusive" new administration for which they were hoping and pushing.
Both the Sunnis and the Kurds had pulled out of the outgoing government of Nouri Maliki, who was widely blamed - including by Washington - for precipitating the current crisis by monopolising power and pursuing sectarian policies which alienated and marginalised the Sunnis in particular, fuelling grievances which the IS militants were swift to exploit.
Success or failure for the Abadi government in the grand endeavour to uproot IS will hinge on the extent to which it can meet those grievances, and convince the Sunni communities in whose areas the militants have taken root that they will have a reliably better future if they turn against the radicals and join the broader drive to oust them.
Without that, the Americans will find themselves backing one side in what is already in many ways a vicious sectarian civil war, fulfilling the warning by the former US commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, that they could end up becoming the air force of the Shia militias.
That already happened 10 days ago, when US air strikes helped Iranian-backed Shia militias break the IS siege of the northern town of Amerli, with nominal support from Iraqi army forces and artillery backup from the Kurds.
Amerli may have been exceptional in that it is a Shia town. But Sunni villages around it, which had been caught up in the struggle and went along with IS whether they wanted to or not, have been trashed, and their inhabitants will never go back.
If the same formula is applied unchanged to the Sunni heartlands where IS has taken root, it will clearly be disastrous.
That is why the White House said, after a congratulatory phone call from US President Barack Obama to Prime Minister Abadi, that the two men had agreed on "the importance of having the new government quickly take concrete steps to address the aspirations and legitimate grievances of the Iraqi people ".
This was clearly a reference to the Sunnis, and implied recognition that to bring them fully on board, much more will have to be done than simply giving them some seats in government.
In the political programme he announced to parliament before presenting his ministers, Mr Abadi proposed widespread devolution to the provinces, including security, in which local people would be engaged in "forming national guards that will be the main pillar for security in the governorates".
Past grudges
If followed through swiftly and sincerely, measures proposed by Mr Abadi would go a long way towards meeting bitter Sunni complaints about marginalisation, victimisation and oppression.
But the legacy of mistrust is strong. Sunni tribal and former military rebels, who turned on al-Qaeda and expelled it from western Anbar province in 2007, felt betrayed when promises made by Baghdad were not fulfilled.
They say they are willing to join the campaign to oust IS now, but they want international guarantees of some sort that there will be a new deal for them, and that they will not be sidelined again.
Empowering the Sunnis to take on IS themselves, albeit with outside help, might mean that the Americans and others have to work with Sunni rebels who took up arms against them after 2003.
But they did that before, from 2007 on with the Awakening Councils - Sunni tribal militants who had been aligned to al-Qaeda but turned around.
The Shia militias for whom the Americans provided air cover at Amerli were the same who battled US troops on the ground - even abducting and killing American soldiers - during those same years.
All concerned seem willing to shelve past grudges to combat what they see as the bigger and more imminent and existential threat posed by IS.
For the Americans, and for the Iraqi Shia and Kurds, that may even mean working with Saddam Hussein's former Baathist adherents, who make up a significant part of the hard core of the Sunni nationalist rebellion.
All of this because the Iraqi army as such is currently in disarray, as evidenced by its spectacular collapse within hours when IS overran Mosul and much of the north in June. Reconstructing it into a cohesive fighting force is not something that can be done overnight.
To defend Baghdad and its approaches, Mr Maliki was forced to mobilise the same Shia militias against which he threw the Iraqi army into battle in 2008, under the slogan of "imposing the law".
Personal patronage
One of the first practical challenges still facing his successor, Mr Abadi, is to fill the key jobs of defence and interior ministers, which he had to leave open - he said for only a week - because there was no consensus on the candidates.
Defence had been expected to go to a Sunni, while the man most cited as the next interior minister, Hadi al-Amiri, is the leader of one of the Shia militias, the heavily Iranian-backed Badr organisation - something the Sunnis would clearly find hard to swallow.
The challenge will be to try to forge the military and security apparatus into truly national institutions, not sectarian fiefdoms.
Mr Maliki had kept his own hands firmly on the strings and built up a strong system of personal patronage in both ministries, including elite units - the Golden Brigades - answerable only to himself. He has now been made one of three Vice-Presidents, normally prestige posts with little real power. But one unanswered question is whether he may be able to use that base to continue pulling some of the security strings, especially if the new ministers fail to get a grip.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
--
Today at 8:43 pm by Bama Diva
» utube MM&C 5/1/24 Iraqi Dinar - IQD Update - 2024 Budget - Cooperation - Confidence - Al-Sudani -
Today at 4:58 am by Rocky
» Oil resources and political conflicts: the parties’ race to control Kirkuk’s wealth
Today at 4:54 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Clock: Waste in ports exceeds “theft of the century”
Today at 4:53 am by Rocky
» Al-Hakim: The countries of the region want to invest in Iraq
Today at 4:51 am by Rocky
» The Ministry of Interior warns against harboring and employing violators of the foreigners’ residenc
Today at 4:48 am by Rocky
» The National Bank of Iraq building was attacked by a bomb east of Baghdad
Today at 4:46 am by Rocky
» It enters illegally and increases the unemployment rate.. Warnings about “foreign workers” in Iraq
Today at 4:44 am by Rocky
» A parliamentary committee reveals two reasons preventing the resumption of oil exports to Türkiye
Today at 4:43 am by Rocky
» A representative considered it a “scandal”... Sudanese agreed to supply Kurdistan with 720 tons of g
Today at 4:42 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Resources: Difficulty in resuming oil exports through Türkiye
Today at 4:40 am by Rocky
» The position of Speaker of Parliament raises political division
Today at 4:38 am by Rocky
» Soon.. voting on amending the law on the foundations of equivalency of certificates
Today at 4:37 am by Rocky
» Iraqi workers celebrate their International Day
Today at 4:35 am by Rocky
» Iraq exports to America more than 4 million barrels of oil
Today at 4:34 am by Rocky
» “Quadruple Summit” regarding the “Development Road” project
Today at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Oil and white products
Today at 4:32 am by Rocky
» Specialists call for monitoring and regulating the entry of foreign workers
Today at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: Iraq will witness a revolution of projects to invest in water wealth
Today at 4:30 am by Rocky
» Launching funding for the salaries of civilian and military retirees for the month of May
Today at 4:27 am by Rocky
» Parliament reveals Erdogan's position on Iraq's water shares: He did not give clear approval
Today at 4:25 am by Rocky
» Finance launches funding for the salaries of civil and military retirees for the month of May
Today at 4:24 am by Rocky
» It may lead to "dividing the region"... revealing an imminent announcement to postpone the Kurdistan
Today at 4:22 am by Rocky
» The Kurdish opposition addresses Baghdad: Do not respond to the request of the Kurdistan government,
Today at 4:20 am by Rocky
» Sudanese sends gas to Kurdistan after the electricity collapse and the bombing of Kormor
Today at 4:18 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani makes a quick visit to the Interior Ministry and meets with senior officers: Be ready and
Today at 4:16 am by Rocky
» On their International Day.. Iraqi workers: Our rights are absent and our economy is fragile
Today at 4:14 am by Rocky
» Government official: Iraq has become a center for drug trade and smuggling
Today at 4:12 am by Rocky
» Cabinet decisions do not include votes on budget schedules, and Parliament criticizes the delay
Today at 4:10 am by Rocky
» Retired workers complain of poor living conditions
Today at 4:08 am by Rocky
» Al-Issawi renews his commitment to running for parliament: I will submit only to God
Today at 4:06 am by Rocky
» A Kurdish party refuses to settle the salaries of employees in the region's banks and files an accus
Today at 4:05 am by Rocky
» Al-Hakim: Sectarianism in Iraq is not social but political
Today at 4:03 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani chairs the seventh meeting of the Supreme Committee of the Strategic Development Road Proj
Today at 4:01 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani chairs the seventh meeting of the Supreme Committee of the Strategic Development Road Proj
Today at 3:59 am by Rocky
» Finance announces the launch of financing retirees’ salaries
Today at 3:56 am by Rocky
» In just two weeks, the Sudanese is awaiting an action plan from the relevant ministries in agreement
Yesterday at 3:35 pm by Rocky
» A thousand dinars every month.. An expert predicts the shape of the final journey of dollar prices
Yesterday at 3:32 pm by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil: The budget deficit is under control
Yesterday at 3:28 pm by Rocky
» Parliamentary proposals to impose an economic blockade on Iraq
Yesterday at 3:18 pm by Rocky
» His advisor: Al-Sudani succeeded in digital transfer in banks
Yesterday at 3:12 pm by Rocky
» Economist reassures: Financial liquidity is available and there are no risks to the Iraqi dinar
Yesterday at 3:10 pm by Rocky
» Iraq is preparing to bid farewell to the blonde old woman and end the UNAMI mission
Yesterday at 2:46 pm by Bama Diva
» utube MM&C 4/30/24 Projects - Confidence Building - National Bank of Iraq
Yesterday at 7:24 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: The government is serious about moving to a diversified economy and supporting the indust
Yesterday at 7:18 am by Rocky
» Deputy: The dollar exchange rate is still high
Yesterday at 7:12 am by Rocky
» The Finance Committee reveals the total transfers today in Iraq
Yesterday at 7:08 am by Rocky
» Minister of Industry: Iraq does not have iron ores suitable for production and we depend on imports
Yesterday at 7:06 am by Rocky
» “The Dilemma of Economic Decisions”... Implementing a gasoline price increase despite opposition fro
Yesterday at 7:03 am by Rocky
» Ukrainian trade explodes with a “surprise”: Iraq has contracted with a “fake” Ukrainian company to d
Yesterday at 6:55 am by Rocky
» Iraq is preparing to invest in the largest gas field
Yesterday at 6:49 am by Rocky
» An economic expert for Nina: The World Bank’s expectations that Iraq will achieve a high growth rate
Yesterday at 6:43 am by Rocky
» The UAE buys cheaper Iraqi oil to increase its exports of “more expensive crude”
Yesterday at 6:40 am by Rocky
» The largest gas field in Iraq is close to seeing the light: a wealth that will reduce the import bil
Yesterday at 6:39 am by Rocky
» Minister of Resources: Water storage in dams is at its best
Yesterday at 6:37 am by Rocky
» Sadiqoun demands that Taqadum give up all positions in exchange for the presidency of Parliament
Yesterday at 6:33 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani inaugurates the continuous casting factory at the General Company for Steel Industries in
Yesterday at 5:28 am by Rocky
» Iraq exports to America more than 4 million barrels of crude oil and its derivatives in a month
Yesterday at 5:26 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: We are committed to workers’ rights and reconstruction projects will not stop
Yesterday at 5:21 am by Rocky
» The Parliamentary Development Institute organizes a workshop on the right to information law
Yesterday at 5:15 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Integrity: The judiciary is making a great effort to resolve the theft of the century
Yesterday at 5:11 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Finance: The government holds responsible for the delay in sending the budget schedule
Yesterday at 5:07 am by Rocky
» Economist: Iraq faces a shortage of 3.5 million housing units
Yesterday at 5:06 am by Rocky
» Obelisk Hour: Sudanese’s visit to Washington did not address the “American exit”
Yesterday at 5:04 am by Rocky
» Planning clarifies the position on contracts and wages from the job number platform
Yesterday at 5:01 am by Rocky
» New country legalizes cryptocurrencies
Yesterday at 4:57 am by Rocky
» The UAE's Dana Gas announces the resumption of work in the "Kormor" field
Yesterday at 4:55 am by Rocky
» The International Comprehensive Shopping Festival kicks off in an Iraqi governorate
Yesterday at 4:54 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Labor gives good news to the workers: Wait for next week
Yesterday at 4:52 am by Rocky
» Iraq's water storage is at its best... Will it address the agricultural situation?
Yesterday at 4:51 am by Rocky
» The government takes a number of new decisions
Yesterday at 4:49 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Labor announces an increase in the salary of retired workers by 100 thousand dinars
Yesterday at 4:46 am by Rocky
» Al-Sudani: Service projects in Iraq “will not stop”
Yesterday at 4:44 am by Rocky
» 90 percent of it comes from across the border. Parliament unveils a new strategy to limit currency s
Yesterday at 4:39 am by Rocky
» Iraq is implementing a "modern strategy" to get rid of a "Sumerian custom" that depleted the waters
Yesterday at 4:37 am by Rocky
» The Minister of Transport announces the opening of 48 collective lines in six governorates
Yesterday at 4:35 am by Rocky
» The Federal Integrity Commission announced the arrest of waste of public money, violations and manip
Yesterday at 4:34 am by Rocky
» Government Media: 3 million citizens have registered so far on the Ur electronic portal
Yesterday at 4:33 am by Rocky
» Labor Day in Iraq.. 6 million workers with an unknown future and stolen rights, and 90% of them “wit
Yesterday at 4:31 am by Rocky
» Iranian Chamber of Commerce: Iraq's investment budget is 150 billion dollars, and our share in it mu
Yesterday at 4:25 am by Rocky
» On International Workers’ Day... The President of the Republic: We stress the necessity of working t
Yesterday at 4:23 am by Rocky
» Prime Minister: We affirm our commitment to all Iraqi workers, men and women, to provide a work envi
Yesterday at 4:22 am by Rocky
» Progress threatens to withdraw from the political process in the event of infringement on its quota
Yesterday at 4:20 am by Rocky
» Bloomberg: Iraq violated its oil export quota and did not adhere to OPEC+ decisions
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 6:23 pm by Rocky
» Al-Sudani stresses the importance of following up on the understandings reached between Iraq and Ame
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 3:56 pm by Rocky
» From "everything is imported" to "food made by one's own hands"... Parliamentary reference to Iraq's
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 3:51 pm by Rocky
» The government hires an external auditor for the Trade Bank of Iraq
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 3:45 pm by Rocky
» Among them relates to the path of development...the full decisions of the Council of Ministers sessi
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 3:37 pm by Rocky
» Al-Maliki warns of the Washington Embassy's plans to threaten Iraqi society
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 11:51 am by wciappetta
» utube MM&C 4/28/24 Iraq Dinar - IQD - Banks - Merge Regionally - Water - Labor -Jobs - Dinar Value
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:44 am by Rocky
» Iraqi Business: There are no financial fears in Iraq for three years, and fear regarding the path of
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:34 am by Rocky
» Parliament is discussing with the Finance and Retirement Law amending the Landlords Law
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:27 am by Rocky
» Customs and taxes... Parliamentary Finance talks about huge sums of money that do not enter the stat
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:23 am by Rocky
» Parliamentary Oil threatens to sue the Ministry of Oil over raising gasoline prices
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:21 am by Rocky
» Iraq begins installing radiation screening gates at border crossings
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:17 am by Rocky
» Hong Kong launches Asia's first Bitcoin and Ether ETFs
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:11 am by Rocky
» Al-Mandalawi discusses with the delegation of the Jordanian Senate the achievement of economic integ
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 10:07 am by Rocky
» Parliament draws attention to the work of security companies in Iraq and identifies the party concer
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 9:59 am by Rocky
» How does a Sudanese choose the countries he visits and what are his messages?
Tue 30 Apr 2024, 9:54 am by Rocky