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Mahmoud Othman: Iraqi PM al-Maliki is a
weak prime minister
24.4.2007
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April 24, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- A broad range of prominent Iraqi
lawmakers say they have lost confidence in Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ability to reconcile the
country's warring factions. A leading Kurdish
lawmaker said al-Maliki should resign.
Legislators from several parties told USA TODAY that
al-Maliki lacks the support in parliament to push
through laws, such as a plan to distribute oil
revenues, that could reduce tensions between Sunnis
and Shiites. Iraq's parliament has failed to pass
major legislation since a U.S.-led security plan
began on Feb. 14.
"He is a weak prime minister," said Mahmoud Othman,
a Kurdish legislator who supported al-Maliki until
recently. "This government hasn't delivered and is
not capable of doing the job. They should resign."
The loss of support came as Democrats agreed Monday
on legislation that would force U.S. troops to begin
leaving Iraq by Oct. 1. President Bush, who said he
would veto the bill, has argued that Iraq's
government needs more time to calm sectarian
violence.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Baghdad
last week that the U.S. military commitment is not
"open ended" and will be re-evaluated in late summer
based in part on whether parliament has made
progress. Al-Maliki seems unable to broker deals
among the fractious alliance of Kurds and Shiites
who supported his appointment last May, said Qasim
Dawood, a member of al-Maliki's coalition. |
Iraqi Prime minister Jawad Nuri al-Maliki
Photo:AP
Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator, member of the
Kurdistan National Democratic Union |
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"The present government is not competent," said
Dawood, a Shiite legislator. "It's more or less
paralyzed, inactive. I doubt very much that this
government can continue in power much longer."
A political adviser to al-Maliki, whose term ends in
2010, said that the prime minister has no power to
pass laws by himself. "We can only ask, push, the
(parliament) to approve," Sadiq al-Rikabi
said.
Al-Rikabi said there is no viable alternative to
al-Maliki as prime minister. "Suppose he resigns,"
al-Rikabi said. "Then what is the solution?"
The Bush administration "has confidence in Prime
Minister Maliki," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman
for the National Security Council.
Pending constitutional amendments on issues such as
tax revenue sharing have stalled, said Ayad al-Samarrai,
deputy chairman of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni
group. He said al-Maliki's poor reputation among
Sunnis was partly to blame. "We don't see any
progress" on sectarian reconciliation, al-Samarrai
said.
Six Cabinet ministers loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the
anti-American Shiite cleric whose support was
crucial in naming al-Maliki as prime minister,
resigned this month.
"(Al-Maliki) must do something to make this
government stronger," said Bahaa al-Araji, a
lawmaker loyal to al-Sadr. "If not, this government
will expire within a few weeks."
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