Former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is threatening neighbouring countries of the region by calling for religious leadership and defending Assad of Syria and Hezbollah on a ‘tourist trip’ to Lebanon, an Arab political analyst journalist has warned.
It is only new Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi’s keenness to heal al-Maliki’s corrupt legacy that is saving the country from civil war, former Al Arabiya general manager Abdulrahman al-Rashed said.
He wrote on the news channel’s website: “With a scandal involving 50, 000 fake military jobs unfurling in Iraq, former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has spoken about the sacred duty to defend Syria, Iran and Hezbollah.
“Perhaps he thinks that it is the best way to cover up the scandals of the army, of which he was the leader, the shocking defeats at the hands of terrorist organizations, the corruption and the presence of ‘ghost’ employees in security and military institutions.
“The former governor of the Baghdad’s Green Zone is threatening the countries of the region, calling for religious leadership.
“He seeks to embarrass the new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi … who called on Iraqis to unite and pledged to correct the mistakes of his predecessor by removing a large number of Maliki’s military leaders.”
And instead of being subjected to an investigation, al-Maliki went on a tourist trip to Lebanon where he issued threats, Mr al-Rashed said.
He added: “At a time when Iraqis are struggling to save the country from ISIS, al-Maliki is calling for the defense of Iran, Assad’s Syria and Hezbollah.
“The scandals and failures of Maliki’s government resulted in a coup by his own party.
“He startled everyone with his yearning for absolute power and essentially became another Saddam Hussein.
“He personally managed seven ministries, along with the presidency of three states. Besides his dictatorship, the scandals his officers were embroiled in continued to come to light, from the scandal of bribes in the Russian arms deals to the old weapons gleaned from Eastern Europe and the appointment of military leaders based on nepotism.
“Growing corruption and failure to rule properly resulted in the disaster of June 11 – the seizure of Mosul by less than 2,000 terrorists after Maliki’s men fled the city. Thousands of people have died due to Maliki’s actions and if it were not for the prompt actions of Iraqi political forces by which they eliminated his government, there would not have been a chance for a unified Iraq today.
“International intervention also made it possible to defend Baghdad, thus preventing the Iraqi capital from falling into the hands of ISIS.
“Without Abadi’s keenness to heal the negative ramifications of the former prime minister’s policies on the tribes of western Iraq, and without his desire to improve the relationship with the Kurds, the divided country would have disintegrated, heading towards a fierce civil war.”
