New Prime Minister Chosen In Iraq

But will this stop the insurgency? No! Of course not. The U.S. has been trying to suggest that the issue of an Iraqi government has something to do with the insurgency. In fact, the two issues are not very connected at all. The U.S. is only setting itself up for failure by framing the discussion this way. They would be better off telling the American public the truth- the two issues are not connected and that even after a new leader is chosen in Iraq, the insurgency will likely continue. This would be a better idea and would brace Americans for future difficulties there.

Instead, the U.S. is only putting pressure on itself. Now, since this is the last political milestone for Iraq, the U.S. will have no other excuses and no other future events to point to in hopes that violence will cease. The U.S. has tried to point out that after each election, there would be this great turn around, and the insurgency would suddenly stop. There have been 3 elections in Iraq and the Bush administration assessment has been wrong each time. Why, because the insurgency is not well connected to the political figures in power there. The two entities operate independently. In fact, the Iraqi politicians have found themselves the targets of insurgents.

Now that the last political milestone has come, the U.S. will not be able to use the political situation as an excuse. The pressure is now on the Bush administration to perform and deliver. If the Republican administration and Republican Congress do not come through, they will suffer here at home and overseas.

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The Sunday Times
April 23, 2006

Iraq names new prime minister

A tough-talking Shi’ite politician was asked to form a government of national unity in Iraq yesterday, ending four months of political deadlock, writes Hala Jaber.
Jawad al-Maliki, 56, who was spokesman to the outgoing prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, will now try to tackle the insurgency, ease sectarian strife, dismantle militias and salvage the Iraqi economy.

In one of his first statements as prime minister-designate, Maliki warned Iraq’s militias they must merge with the country’s armed forces.
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, said the announcement that he had been asked to head Iraq’s new government was an “important milestone” and he was someone the US could work with.

Meeting for only the second time since last December’s general election, the Iraqi parliament chose a Sunni Speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani. Under an agreement reached before the session, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, will remain president.

The new prime minister spent more than 20 years in exile, mostly in Syria, during Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. A veteran leader of the Shi’ite Dawa party, he became one of the leading negotiators in the drafting of Iraq’s new constitution after the fall of Saddam.
He also gained a reputation as a hardliner as deputy head of a committee assigned to purge former members of the Ba’ath party.

Source: The Times UK