State Dept: Iraqi PM Maliki to Be Ousted Soon

Assures of 'Urgency' to Replace PM

Speaking with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran Brett McGurk says he believes Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s days are numbered.

“I think we’re in a race against time,” McGurk warned, but said he believes that officials are acting with “urgency” to see Maliki replaced, and that there are several “very capable” leaders to replace Maliki, though he declined to name them.

The Obama Administration has made clear for over a month that it wants Maliki replaced, though the Iraqi parliament has struggled to agree on new officials. Having finally agreed on a new president today, Fuad Masum, the premiership is the next thing to settle on.

Yet Maliki insists he intends to remain the premier for a third term, and his State of Law bloc has yet to offer an alternative candidate, making it a struggle to find a new candidate who can get a majority.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.