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POPSPolitical Theater al-Maliki Style As the security situation has improved, Iraqis increasingly are calling for the drawdown of American troops, and it probably will be a top issue in the provincial elections. Maliki has tried to balance voters’ preference for the departure of foreign forces with the Bush administration’s opposition to a timeline. In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine this week, Maliki seemed to endorse Obama’s troop-withdrawal proposal, drawing the ire of the White House. The prime minister's office later backed away from the interview. But Monday’s statement by Maliki’s spokesman suggested that he's speaking with an audience different from the White House in mind: Iraqi voters.
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POPSIraqi PM: 'Obama is Right' My question is when -- or even whether -- the media will start comparing the facts in the world to John McCain's rhetoric. Not only is Iraq heading in the exact opposite direction of what he's been advocating, but so has the State Dept's. posture toward Iran . John McCain is being proved wrong before our very eyes and no one seems to be pointing this out.
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POPSMaliki: Iraq Will Not Be Used as a Staging Area From BLOG. The meeting with Iranian leaders comes as Maliki's government is negotiating a "status of forces" agreement with the United States that would govern how long U.S. forces would remain, whether permanent bases would be established and what jurisdiction the Iraqi government would have over them. Iran strongly opposes any permanent U.S. presence in Iraq. The Iraqi government maintains close ties with Iran As I have pointed out before, Iraq has very close ties with Iran, politically, socially, and even militarily. Maliki's Dawa Party, as well as the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (the United Iraqi Alliance's second largest political party) and the Badr Organization (which dominates the Iraqi military and police forces) all originated from Iran.
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POPSWhittling Away At Shia Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
(continued) Al-Qaida in Iraq tried to ignite a sectarian war -- its now-dead emir, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, made that goal explicit in February 2004. Al-Qaida massacred en masse, to the point that U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D for Defeatist) declared the war in Iraq lost. Then, the Sunni tribes in Anbar turned on al-Qaida. Sunni political integration is by no means complete, but al-Qaida has failed. In August 2004, Sadr's thugs grabbed the Grand Mosque in Najaf. Sadr was counting on Americans to bomb the mosque. The United States opted to follow the political lead of Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Sistani's aides told coalition officers: "Let us deal with Sadr. We know how to handle him and will do so. However, the coalition must not make him a martyr." Think of the Iraqi anti-Sadr method as a form of suffocation, a political war waged with the blessing of Ayatollah Sistani that requires daily economic and political action, persistent police efforts and occasional military thrusts.
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POPSDiagnosis Madhi Army THE Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr yesterday offered to disband his militia if the highest Shiite religious authority demands it
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POPSIraq PM calls for French apology The other article is not as much an attempt at humour (I think) as this one. If it is serious, it is a real joke. And people are dying so this can go on!!!!
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POPSDemocrats attack Iraqi PM As Brad DeLong says: "Yep. House Democrats. Scoring cheap domestic political points without regard to the national or world interest."
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