Shiite Bloc Ready to Forgo Interior Post

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Leaders of Iraq's powerful Shiite Muslim political bloc said Friday that they were willing to give up control over the Interior Ministry and its police forces, a move that could ease both the fears of other sectarian groups and the formation of a new government.

Under Shiite leadership for the last year, the ministry has been accused of providing cover for death squads and militias that have targeted minority Sunni Arabs, stoking mistrust of security forces and spurring the growth of destabilizing armed groups.

Khudair Khuzai, the top Shiite negotiator at talks on forming the government, said in an interview Friday that his bloc had proposed surrendering control over the state's internal security apparatus. In return, the coalition would want control over the Defense Ministry and the country's armed forces, Khuzai said.

Though cordial, the atmosphere in the meetings can be intense. "There are some real obsessions," said Kamal Saadi, a Shiite legislator. "The Sunnis worry that the Ministry of Interior will continue the same strategy it followed before, while the Shiites have the same worries about the Ministry of Defense, which is dominated by Kurds and Sunnis."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-interior29apr29,1,5856048.story?coll=la-headlines-world&track=crosspromo

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1. "Several Sunni politicians said they were skeptical.."

Several Sunni politicians said they were skeptical about the Shiites' newfound flexibility on the Interior Ministry post. They called it a ploy to cast leaders of the dominant coalition as nonsectarian liberals when they really had no intention of giving up control over what has become the country's most powerful institution.

"We are grateful that they felt they are not qualified at running this ministry. We also feel that they are not capable of running the Ministry of Defense, either," said Dhafir Ani, a Sunni lawmaker. "This offer was a maneuver."