Now that Nuri Al-Maliki has taken over as Iraq’s new prime minister, the first legally elected government in Baghdad after the 2003 ouster of the Baathist regime will be established soon.
Irrespective of how Maliki was selected by the United Iraqi Alliance after four months of wrangling between power centers and pressure groups in the war-battered country, it must be stressed that this difficult decision once again neutralized US attempts to impose a puppet regime under the guise of a ’national salvation government.’
Maliki is now the epitome of the long-denied aspirations of millions of oppressed Iraqis for freedom, rule of law, good governance, and decent standards of living.
Of course, Maliki faces far too many post-war challenges, some of which are the manipulations and dangerous creations of the US-led occupying forces desperate to justify their illegal, ill-planned and visibly disastrous presence in the Arab country.
The primary challenge that Maliki and his government will have to tackle is returning security and stability. If he wants to succeed in this critical area and pave the way for other key developments, he must assume responsibility for all Iraqi armed forces. Translation: the foreign armies and their minions cannot and should not take military action or anything of that sort without Maliki’s consent.
However, given Bush’s mounting problems and sliding support at home and in occupied Iraq, it seems unlikely Washington would accept such realities, at least at this juncture.
Another problem for the incoming government is the stance and future of radical Sunnis presently active in the political process and who will continue to seek a bigger share of the pie and also push for the removal of the majority Shiites from key administrative posts.
These radical elements and their foot soldiers enjoy support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab regimes close to western camps and share their hostile “views“ about Shiite political power and influence in the Arab world.
Radical Sunnis are represented in the parliament and in recent months by accepting some US ’proposals’ on ways to end the three-year-old sectarian violence, presented a plan for restricting the activities of Shiites. A venture Washington has reportedly embraced for its own reasons.
It should not be doubted that putting an end to the unrest is not considered a very serious challenge for Maliki on the premise that the occupying forces let Iraqi security forces take appropriate actions if and when necessary and do not interfere in Iraq’s complicated internal affairs.
Due to his close bonds with Shiite political groups, Maliki can and will find sufficient numbers of capable and willing volunteers for reordering the security forces. Nevertheless, Iraq-watchers have serious reservations about US announcements and its long-publicized claims to promote a free and democratic Iraq. Similarly, they say Bush and his military planners will oppose the creation of an independent Iraqi security force to oversee law and order.
It is likely that in the coming weeks Maliki and his administration will have to confront greater pressure from the US to include uninvited elements such as Iyad Allawi in the new setup. It is reported that the US envoy in Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad is doing everything he can to find a ’suitable’ portfolio for the likes of Allawi.
A so-called secularist Shiite, Alawi is better known for his ardent services to and strong support for American and British spy agencies (before and after Saddam’s political demise) for monetary gain.
How the newly elected government will go about tackling the myriad of problems in Iraq remains to be seen. Maliki and his men will surely need all the support they can from the comity of nations and governments who wish well for the oppressed nation. Iraq’s neighbors who have long talked about regional peace and stability must rise to the occasion now and give the new government and its leaders a helping hand.