Carnage greets new Iraqi Government
May 20 – Iraqi parliament finally approves the country’s government of national unity as fresh sectarian violence leaves dozens dead
The national unity government of Shi’ites, Sunnis and Kurds was voted in after internal wrangling over who should occupy the powerful interior and defence posts almost caused yet another delay.
The inauguration of Iraq’s first government since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion was preceded by more sectarian attacks across the country. The worst of the bloodshed was in the Shi’ite slum district of Sadr City where a bomb attack killed more than a dozen labourers.
The United States is looking to the new unity government to restore law and order to Iraq.
reuters.com
Under-fire Iraq minister to head nation’s finances
BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq’s new Finance Minister Bayan Jabr Solagh is a controversial choice to manage the nation’s finances having been the target of persistent allegations of Shiite sectarianism while at the helm of the interior ministry over the past year.
Who’s who in Iraq’s new cabinet
Iraq’s Latest Man of Hour Is Hard-Liner
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The new prime minister carrying U.S. hopes for bringing stability to Iraq is a Shiite Muslim hard-liner whom fellow Shiites once thought they could never sell to the Americans.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Cabinet took office Saturday, promising to combat terrorism, promote national dialogue among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, and build a country free of sectarian and ethnic discrimination.
If he succeeds, that will hasten the day when 132,000 American soldiers can begin heading home.
“Prime Minister Maliki realizes the new government must forge unity and reconciliation amongst the Iraqi people,” U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said after the swearing-in ceremony.
The balding, stern-faced al-Maliki appears eager to heal the sectarian divisions that have raised fears of civil war in Iraq.
Although he was unable to get agreement from his governing partners on naming ministers of interior and defense, he repeated assurances that he will choose figures who have no ties to sectarian militias and death squads Ñ a key U.S. demand.
“This government was formed through intensified dialogues and it did not come from a sectarian background as some have said,” al-Maliki said Saturday. “Efforts were exerted to come up with a most coherent government.”
Only a few weeks ago al-Maliki was not considered a unifying figure. He had a reputation as a Shiite hard-liner dating back to the years when he supervised Shiite guerrillas fighting Saddam Hussein’s Sunni Arab-dominated regime from his exile in Syria.
Inside Iraq’s hidden war
As a new ‘national unity’ government prepares to take power in Baghdad, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad reports from behind the lines of a vicious sectarian conflict rapidly spiralling towards civil war
hidden from who?