Maliki Govt. Issues ‘Terrorism’ Arrest Warrant Against Sunni VP
Facing Coalition Collapse, Officials Seek to Arrest Top Rival
Tensions are soaring inside Iraq tonight, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government is on the brink of collapse, has ordered his Vice President, Tareq al-Hashemi, arrested on terrorism charges.
“An arrest warrant was issued for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi according to Article 4 of the terrorism law and is signed by five judges,” confirmed an Interior Ministry spokesman. Of course Iraq has no permanent Interior Minister, as this along with the Defense Ministry have been kept under Maliki’s de facto control.
Maliki ordered Hashemi detained at an airport only yesterday, claiming they thought his bodyguards were responsible for assassinations. Since then the state-run media has been broadcasting confessions of bodyguards linking Hashemi to the scheme.
Hashemi has been vice president since 2006, and one of the nation’s most influential Sunni politicians. This makes the potential of his arrest even more controversial for the Shi’ite-dominated government, as it is liable to fuel more sectarian anger.
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John_Muhammad
December 20th, 2011 at 1:36 am
And it's that easy to publicly denounce someone as a terrorist and therefore make it so. How many want to take bets on how long it will be before our own politicians begin the same process to weed out potential rivals?
ghouri
December 20th, 2011 at 2:17 am
Naturally all the infidels and corrupt agents made mistakes and blunders and will be removed. He will have the same fate as Saddam Hussain. Maliki is out.
Rainbow
December 20th, 2011 at 4:41 am
What would be different in America? In America, a President could get rid of an annoying opposition politician by making the same 'terrorist' charges … only in America, he wouldn't need to get any pesky judges to sign off before he just grabbed the opposition politician and 'disappeared' them into Gitmo.
curmudgeonvt
December 20th, 2011 at 6:35 am
One could look at the recent attempts by McCrazy and his sidekick Grahamcrackers to codify Indefinite detention of American citizens anywhere in the world and make the guess that the process has already begun.
I wonder…could it be the reason there has been so little "real" journalism in the last 15-20 years, especially when it involves the elected "elite" is that the "journalists" have been warned that undue scrutiny could result in more than just a loss of "access?" Or am I giving journalists too much credit for even being able to investigate and report. Given the clumsy ineptitude of the politicians nowadays, seems hardly a fair criticism. But, that's just this old Curmudgeon's opinion…
fenistol
December 20th, 2011 at 8:58 am
So the transition to an Islamic fundamentalist government begins. To paraphrase Leon Panetta: I think Islamists recognize that bin Laden's life was not lost in vain.
jgmoebus
December 20th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
But, just as in DUNE, the Oil Will Flow. The Oil MUST Flow.
It doesn't matter who runs that government: the Oil Will Flow. The Oil MUST Flow.
Empire WILL get its Oil. Upon that you may depend.
davidgrayling
December 20th, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Ah, how lucky Iraqis are to have had the U.S. help them to achieve the Iraqi Dream.
I'll bet other nations are lining up to be invaded and occupied by the U.S..
When is the U.S. going to recognize that, as a world leader, it is an abject failure. Its War Machine is also a failure. It can't even beat a few terrorists with light arms!
Let's condemn the U.S. before it kills more people and destroys more lands!
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