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Iraqi President Talabani Re-elected to a
second term
22.4.2006
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra | ANNE GEARAN
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BAGHDAD, Iraq,
April 22, (AP) -- After months of political
deadlock, Iraq's parliament convened Saturday and
filled top leadership posts, starting the process of
putting together a new government aimed at pulling
the country out of insurgency and sectarian strife.
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, was elected to a
second term, and the post of parliament speaker went
to Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab. Al-Mashhadani's
two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite,
and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd.
Talabani then named Shiite politician Jawad al-Maliki
prime minister-designate after his Shiite coalition
nominated him Friday, breaking a deadlock that held
up formation of the new government for months. |
Iraqi
President : Jalal Talabani
Photo: Reuters |
Rice puts reputation
on line over Iraq
WASHINGTON - Months of political haggling in
Iraq that sapped the American public's support for
the war may be nearing an end, offering hope amid
rising sectarian carnage.
It also leaves Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
in a more visible role as the Bush administration
tries to steady a country at the brink of civil war.
Members of Iraq's parliament took several steps
Saturday to break the deadlock that had slowed the
formation of a new government since elections in
December. They elected President Jalal Talabani, a
Kurd, to a second term and named Mahmoud al-Mashhadani,
a Sunni Arab, parliament speaker. Al-Mashhadani's
two deputies were to be Khalid al-Attiyah, a Shiite,
and Aref Tayfour, a Kurd. |
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Photo: White House |
Shiite politician Jawad al-Maliki was named prime
minister-designate by Talabani. Al-Maliki replaces
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose attempt to
stay for another term had been opposed by Sunnis and
Kurds and led to a stalemate that seemed to fuel
sectarian violence and drain political momentum from
the process.
"It looks like there's movement and that's good
news," Rice said Friday as word of a compromise
spread.
She and other U.S. officials have been pushing hard
behind the scenes for the Shiites to find a way out
of the impasse. On her last visit to Iraq three
weeks ago, Rice did not disguise a lack of
enthusiasm for al-Jaafari, who was seen as weak and
too closely allied with the firebrand anti-American
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Rice could now travel to Iraq more frequently and
discuss the war more freely both at home and abroad
as the administration tries to capitalize on the
long-delayed opportunity for a fresh political
start.
To the degree that Rice gets more directly involved
in guiding Iraq's new government, she will be
putting her credibility on the line and risking a
backlash against the perception of American
meddling.
Rice also risks tarnishing her reputation at home,
which has withstood President Bush's sinking poll
numbers and recent demands from several retired
generals that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
step down.
"She has two choices," said Benjamin Barber,
professor of civil society at the University of
Maryland.
"One is to cheerlead, to stand on the sidelines and
say, 'This is great, the political parties are
capable of reconciling,'" and handling problems
themselves, Barber said.
That's essentially what Rice had done until
recently.
The other course, Barber said, is to "get a little
pushier." If she does, Rice will be treading "very
dangerous ground" where she may do more harm than
good, he said.
The administration wants to see decisive moves by
the new Iraqi government to rein in violence and
build confidence among dispirited Iraqis who have
increasingly turned to the protection of outlaw
militias in the absence of clear central government
control.
"There is a realization that this is our last best
chance," said Kurt Campbell, director of the
International Security Program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.
That could dictate a more direct role for Rice if,
as the administration hopes, political gains begin
to edge out violence as the prevailing story from
Iraq.
"This is the highest possible stakes diplomacy, but
it's unavoidable," if Iraq is to take charge of its
own future and speed the day when U.S. forces can
leave, Campbell said.
There are signs Rice cannot resist taking a more
aggressive stance, or perhaps that the
administration feels it has no other choice. Even
before Friday's political developments in Iraq, Rice
had been slowly raising her profile on the issue.
The risk she runs was clear during a visit she made
to Baghdad this month. Instead of staging photo-ops
with soldiers, as she has done on previous visits,
Rice huddled with Iraq's quarreling leaders behind
closed doors. She left with nothing to show for the
effort.
Rice recently has given a string of speeches before
foreign policy scholars that argue the world cannot
afford to lose Iraq to chaos and terrorism.
She is also sitting for an unusual number of news
interviews with television stations and others
outside Washington, in hopes of taking the case for
perseverance in Iraq directly to local audiences.
AP | State.gov
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