The Times January 12, 2007
Bronwen Maddox: World Briefing
President Bush’s “surge” assumes that the Iraqi Government shares his goals, and that given a bit of help with security and a bit more time, they will get there together. That is wrong.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, is not quite the well-meaning but ineffective figure portrayed in Bush’s plan. He has done at least seven things in the past six months which show that he plans to help Shias to secure control of every part of government and has no notion of sharing power with Sunnis.
. Just before Christmas, his Government invited several Iranian officials to Baghdad, to the anger of the US, which arrested them.
. Al-Maliki pressed ahead with Saddam Hussein’s execution over the new year despite US requests to slow down the process until legal questions had been answered.
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