[Dean's World] Dave Price: Iraq's New PM: Jawad al-Maliki

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Posted by Dave Price:
Iraq's New PM: Jawad al-Maliki 
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1145744498.shtml


   Sounds [1]promising.

     Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called him a patriot and
     "somebody with whom we can work," even if he disagrees with the
     United States on certain issues.
     ...
     "He's thought to be a strong figure, someone who is capable of
     getting things done," Rice said. "He's also thought to be someone
     who is very much an Iraqi patriot â very, very concerned about Iraq
     and Iraq's sovereignty."

   And of course he already has a [2]wiki, which is pretty skimpy at the
   moment but will probably fill out quickly.
   The appointment itself is another small victory in Iraq's campaign to
   achieve a free, democratic country that is a decent place for Iraqis
   to live, but of course a lot depends on how he handles the job. Early
   signs seem to augur well: he's already making nationalist,
   reconciliative noises and [3]talking about merging the militias into
   the army.

     "We are going to form a family that will not be based on sectarian
     or ethnic backgrounds," Mr Maliki said, seeking to shed a hardline
     Shi'ite image and present himself as a prime minister able to unite
     Shi'ite Muslims, Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
     ...
     "Arms should be in the hands of the government. There is a law that
     calls for the merging of militias with the armed forces," said Mr
     Maliki, nominated by the ruling Shi'ite Alliance, the largest bloc
     in parliament after December elections.

   Iraq's biggest problem at the mooment is obviously the lack of a state
   monopoly on force, though the insurgency has been ground down to the
   point militias no long appear to be a serious threat to Iraq's
   democratically elected government and seem mostly resigned to becoming
   part of that government in some capacity.
   How the militias are brought into the government appears to be the key
   issue now. Conflicting loyalties is a problem as old as armies
   themselves, and there are well-developed ways of dealing with the
   problem which U.S. trainers are certainly aware of; all the accounts
   I've read of the IA say they are doing an excellent overall job of
   handling issues in a non-sectarian way. So the real question is
   whether militias will submit to being assimilated in ways which would
   involve breaking up their leadership.
   The Kurds will be especially reluctant to do so; as [4]Michael Totten
   has noted the Peshmerga are quite beloved by their people, and of
   course they would need an army to have their own state, a desire which
   is nearly universal among Kurds. Of course the Kurds haven't been
   involved in much violence either, so maybe they'll be given a pass on
   this, at least for now.

References

   1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060422/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq_10
   2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawad_al-Maliki
   3. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18901964-23109,00.html
   4. http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001127.html