Iraq: Is There Now a Government and "Stability"?
Monday, October 4, 2010 at 7:25
Given Friday's headlines that Iraq was on the verge of a government, seven months after national elections, you might have expected a bit of relief today.
Not really.
It appears that current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki may retain office after a deal between his State of Law Party and the representatives of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. However, the combination of the Shi'a factions raises a question as to whether Sunnis, who make up 20% of Iraq's population and enjoyed predominance in the Iraqi system until 2003, will be shut out. There is also the possibility of intra-Shi'a tension, with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq excluded from the proposed Government.
So leading analyst Reidar Visser is more than cautious as well as scathing about what he sees as Washington's flailing, stemming from its long-time animosity towards Moqtada al-Sadr: