Friday
Dec192008
Follow-up: Showdown for the al-Maliki Government?
Friday, December 19, 2008 at 12:42
Reporting yesterday on the significance of the arrest of up to 35 Interior Ministry officials and military officers in Iraq, we wrote:
It has taken less than 24 hours for the political complications to emerge.
CNN has been told by "one knowledgeable Iraqi politician" that the arrests "stem" from internal conflicts between political parties ahead of the January 31 provincial elections". And, far from helping al-Maliki, a "senior US military official" concurred, that "the arrests appear to have been politically motivated".
That last quote is especially interesting. Could it be that the al-Maliki Government has arrested officials who have been involved in the American "surge" strategy of bolstering local Sunni groups?
Assuming that all those arrested are Sunni, the Shi’a-led al-Maliki Government now faces a challenge that goes beyond plotters — both political and military — in its midst.
It has taken less than 24 hours for the political complications to emerge.
CNN has been told by "one knowledgeable Iraqi politician" that the arrests "stem" from internal conflicts between political parties ahead of the January 31 provincial elections". And, far from helping al-Maliki, a "senior US military official" concurred, that "the arrests appear to have been politically motivated".
That last quote is especially interesting. Could it be that the al-Maliki Government has arrested officials who have been involved in the American "surge" strategy of bolstering local Sunni groups?
tagged CNN, Nouri al-Maliki, US Military Policy in Iraq
CNN, Nouri al-Maliki, US Military Policy in Iraq
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