BY: Mousa Afshar
A successful administration of Iraq’s security plan is the last hope for the coalition forces to get the Iraqi government out of the political impasse it is currently in.
Since its inception, the security plan has been challenged by the “strategic security card”, played by the Iranian regime in Iraq.
On one hand, survival of the Maleki’s government is tied to the success of this security plan. On the other hand, for the security plan to succeed, Iranian regime’s tentacles must be severed in Iraq, a development which means termination of the Maliki government.
In the mean time Al-Maliki’s government is seriously challenged because some members of its coalition are pulling out of the administration. Maliki’s Justice Minister resigned about a month ago. Then, Fazilat Shiite party with 15 members in the parliament pulled out, an exit that badly hurt the ruling coalition as it claimed to be the representative of the entire Shiite community.
The next pull out from the administration was that of Moqtada Al-Sadr’s forces who had six cabinet members. No matter what the reason, this exit was a definite sign of a week government.
Just recently the United Iraqi Alliance has threatened to pull out. They have 44 members in the parliament as well as holding the deputy prime minister’s position. According to knowledgeable sources the pull out of this movement will in fact “bring down the Iraqi government.”
According to political observers who attended the Riyadh conference, Nouri Al-Maliki’s administration will not survive more than a few months. They reason that Nouri Al-Maliki’s government is not only suffering international isolation but it is also undergoing political distress domestically.
A recent assertion by Sheikh Hassan Al-Zarqani, a member of Muqtada Al-Sadr’s movement gives a clear picture about the state of the Iraqi government, “We supported the security plan but did not experience any political or social progress. The Prime Minister recently drowned the ship and did not leave even one boat to save us.” (Reuters April 16)
According to observers, Al-Maliki is the last political and administrative hope for the Iranian regime in Iraq. His situation has resulted in the mullahs extensively using their blood-spattered security “card” at the expense of hundreds of innocent Iraqi lives. Analysts assert, “No one believes the current government will survive for a long time since inspite of the new security plan, only in the past two months, 500 Iraqi citizens have lost their lives in Baghdad. On the other hand the American Democrats are pressuring Bush on the Iraqi swamp which could mean eventual resignation of Nouri Al-Maliki.” (Deutsch Press Agency, April 19, 2007)
