A Small Teeny Tiny Glimmer of Hope in Iraq

[beachmom]

Iraqi Premier Gives Up Bid to Keep His Post


By KIRK SEMPLE and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
Published: April 20, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 20 — Under intense pressure from across the Iraqi political spectrum, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari today dropped his bid to retain his job, apparently breaking a political deadlock that had stymied the formation of a new government and created a power vacuum in which lawlessness had thrived.

snip

"I believe that we will succeed in forming the national unity government the people are waiting for," Mr. Pachachi said at a news conference at the National Assembly building in the fortified Green Zone.

Mahmoud Othman, a member of Parliament and senior official in the Kurdish political alliance, said it appeared that the Shiite clerical leadership in Najaf, particularly the country's most influential Shiite cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, had forced Mr. Jaafari's hand.

"Jaafari resisted as long as he could, but he reached the point where he couldn't resist any more because of the pressure he had from Najaf," he said.

The Shiites have also come under steady pressure from the American government to resolve the dispute, including a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this month. American officials have made it clear to the Shiites that they preferred a replacement for Mr. Jaafari because of his close ties to Mr. Sadr, who commands a feisty militia, and his relationship with Iran, where he lived for many years in exile.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/world/middleeast/20cnd-iraq.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=3e19199dfd30edcf&hp&ex=1145592000&partner=homepage

Okay, I'll give al Sistani most of the credit, but it certainly didn't hurt that one of the most prominent members of the opposition party in America and former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry demanded they get their act together by 5/15 or our troops should immediately be withdrawn. That certainly seemed poised to get their attention more than Condi pleading and begging in person, now didn't it?

[sandnsea]

1. Sadr

Seriously, something has got to be done about Sadr. The Sunnis are being blamed for all the violence, but Sadr has been building his militia since the statue fell, before that really. I haven't checked details in a while, but a couple years ago the violence in Baghdad was primarily in and from Sadr City, the section that used to be Saddam City. 2 million people in that area, iirc. I don't know what it's like there now. If I were a minority of some sort with a militant power rising up like that, I'd be a little freakish too. This is good news, provided Sadr accepts whoever they come up with next.

[beachmom]

2. Sadr is the Shiite Zarqawi that we put up with

His militia killed Casey Sheehan, Cindy's son, and is, of course, very anti-American. He is despised by all of the Sunnis (including the good ones); if he is too much part of the Iraqi government, then we're doomed. His militias have been terrorizing the citizens of Baghdad for a long time, certainly since 2/22/06.