After being the US-approved candidate for years, to the extent that even a defeat in the 2010 election ended with a US-imposed “consensus” government keeping him in power, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has finally fallen out of favor, and President Obama wants him gone.
US officials say that they have been urging the other parties in Iraq to form a new coalition government without Maliki, and that they believe Maliki would not be able to bring Sunnis into his coalition to fight ISIS.
Diplomats say that the call is also coming at the behest of key Sunni allies like Saudi Arabia, who don’t like Maliki and have been offering to help “stabilize” Iraq if the US gets him ousted.
Maliki has been centralizing power in his own hands for years, and has blamed the Saudis for the ISIS takeover of the west, dubbing it “genocide” on their part. He has given some lip-service to bringing Sunnis and Kurds into positions of power, but has so far not actually done anything.
Whether that’s going to prevent US military action or not remains to be seen, but there is at least some indication that US involvement might be more limited as they try to push Maliki out, before going in more heavily to back his successor.
Patrick Cockburn from the Independent is also reporting that even Iran’s leadership is “divided on whether or not to withdraw its support from Mr. Maliki and see Shia dominance and Iranian power in Iraq diluted.”
It’s virtually a foregone conclusion that whoever succeeds Maliki would be a Shi’ite as well, but the US seems to hope he would be less personally power-hungry, and he wouldn’t have the years of animosity with Sunni Arabs and Kurds fueling unrest.
With Maliki’s State of Law Party holding a large plurality, forming a coalition around them might also be a difficult task, and one that would depend on getting some consensus behind either Moqtada al-Sadr’s Ahrar Party, or Ammar al-Hakim’s Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
Uh-oh here it comes, REGIME CHANGE IRAQ! Wait, didn't the US try that once already?
Perhaps the US and its allies should arm Sunni jihadists for the job of removing Maliki. Nevermind, they already have.
Ngô Đình Diệm would advise Maliki to watch his back.
Maliki — the new Diem. Obama wants him gone as in, like 'gone', right?
The article twists the facts and seems to indicate that the US is actually acting with benign intentions, wanting to replace the "power hungry" Malaki who 'has centralised power in his hands" with a more inclusive government. How democratically inclined, I was moved to tears! In fact contrary to the author's contention that Maleki had been the US candidate of choice, Maleki was too independent for the invading superpower's comfort. It was rather Maleki's alliance with Iran and projects such as the Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline that would transport gas to Europe cutting out giant energy companies and purchasing arms from Russia that incurred necessitated his replacement with a more 'democratic' regime favoured by Saudi-Arabia and Israel. In relation to the 2010 parliamentary election, in fact the favourite US candidate was Allawi bloc whose victory Makaki contested and asked for a recount. It was the threat of widespread unrest and instability that prompted the US supporting a coalition, including Malaki's party.
Maliki is just another (thug) the USG can't use anymore.
If Maliki was smart, he would take his 30 pieces of silver
and disappear. Bucking the Empire (will) land him in the
USG garbage disposal system.
General Hifter in Libya, pay attention.
Par for the course. When screwed demand "regime change". Will our government ever come up with something truly constructive?
So if the same conditions were happening in this country and China then called for the ouster of our President, would that be acceptable? No. This is why our elected leaders have become useless corrupt oligarchs. They care more about trying to control the world instead of representing their districts.
The Saudi's would attack Iraq and taken their oil in any event.
This is for control of the price of oil, not for oil itself. The house of Saud want's it all. And Obama is getting a HUGE payoff.
Barack Hussein Obama is still in business doing favor to the demands by Saudis and Qatari Stone Age regimes. Bush regime was talking about the sheei't being the majority in Iraq which Saddam was oppressing, later Maliki was favored by Barack Hussein Obama and now this. The ISIS is the tool given to USG by the Saudis and in general UAE forcing the Maliki to "reform" the government as USG, EU, Saudis, Qatari want the reform should be, otherwise the very same people both in senate and WH start supporting these savages to accomplish their favoritism toward Saudis, Israelis and Qatari. The amount of support that USG, Turkish government, the EU and tyrant regimes been providing these barbarians and savers shows the fact that they are not in business of any democracy but by not having any other choice they chose the savage and Neo fascism in Ukraine over democracy and its social process.
look at the arrogance and evil acts of anglos controlled west which abrogates to itself who will be priemmisnter even if that primemisnter has jsut won a ean election the elction much more legitimate than any in usa or england.
iSIS is british american creation hence obama 's so many conditions to help iraq to get rid of anglos stooge isis from cpaturing pwoer.
time to destory this anglo evil empire.