Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Philadelphia Inquirer
January 12, 2008 The message of unity puts new pressure on Maliki to have a more inclusive government.
By Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press
BAGHDAD - One of Iraq's most powerful Shiite political and religious figures yesterday issued a stunning call for the government to set aside differences with Sunni Muslim politicians and entice them back to help lead the country.
The appeal by Ammar al-Hakim, the son and heir-apparent of the head of Iraq's main Shiite political bloc, sharply increased pressure on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to bring Sunni factions back into the fold as part of Washington-backed efforts at sectarian reconciliation.
It also could push Maliki's government to accelerate steps to integrate armed Sunni groups that have joined the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists. The United States has credited the so-called Awakening Councils with helping uproot insurgents and has urged Iraq's Shiite leadership to reward the new Sunni allies with security force posts.
The Awakening Councils played a role in a major U.S. offensive this week, an operation that included one of the most intense air strikes of the war. A top U.S. commander said Thursday's bombing blitz allowed U.S. soldiers to push into areas where they had not been in years.
The United States is also counting on political support from Hakim and his father, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The elder Hakim, a close ally to the United States since the 2003 invasion, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. His son, a moderate Shiite like his father, has taken an increasingly vocal role.
"I hope that the government will take all needed measures to secure" the return of key Sunni political groups, Ammar Hakim said from the pulpit of Buratha mosque. The main Sunni political organization, the Accordance Front, and the secular Iraqi List left the government after disputes over Maliki's leadership.
But in a bid to address both sides of Iraq's Sunni-Shiite sectarian split, Hakim also said Maliki needed to reach out to "our brothers" in two Shiite parties that are deeply at odds with the prime minister. One is the religious Fadhilah party and the other is the powerful movement led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Rival Shiite groups have waged bloody power struggles for preeminence in oil-rich southern Iraq.
"Our strength is in our unity," Hakim said. "The bigger the circle of participation, the stronger we will be in solving our problems.
"I call on lawmakers to speed the passage of key legislation," he said, referring to measures on sharing Iraq's oil wealth, on regional elections and on the return to the government of figures from the Saddam Hussein era.
His pointed words echoed frustration voiced by many in Iraq and the United States over what appears to be foot-dragging by Maliki and the country's fractured parliament to adopt reforms.
January 12, 2008 The message of unity puts new pressure on Maliki to have a more inclusive government.
By Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press
BAGHDAD - One of Iraq's most powerful Shiite political and religious figures yesterday issued a stunning call for the government to set aside differences with Sunni Muslim politicians and entice them back to help lead the country.
The appeal by Ammar al-Hakim, the son and heir-apparent of the head of Iraq's main Shiite political bloc, sharply increased pressure on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to bring Sunni factions back into the fold as part of Washington-backed efforts at sectarian reconciliation.
It also could push Maliki's government to accelerate steps to integrate armed Sunni groups that have joined the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists. The United States has credited the so-called Awakening Councils with helping uproot insurgents and has urged Iraq's Shiite leadership to reward the new Sunni allies with security force posts.
The Awakening Councils played a role in a major U.S. offensive this week, an operation that included one of the most intense air strikes of the war. A top U.S. commander said Thursday's bombing blitz allowed U.S. soldiers to push into areas where they had not been in years.
The United States is also counting on political support from Hakim and his father, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The elder Hakim, a close ally to the United States since the 2003 invasion, has been diagnosed with lung cancer. His son, a moderate Shiite like his father, has taken an increasingly vocal role.
"I hope that the government will take all needed measures to secure" the return of key Sunni political groups, Ammar Hakim said from the pulpit of Buratha mosque. The main Sunni political organization, the Accordance Front, and the secular Iraqi List left the government after disputes over Maliki's leadership.
But in a bid to address both sides of Iraq's Sunni-Shiite sectarian split, Hakim also said Maliki needed to reach out to "our brothers" in two Shiite parties that are deeply at odds with the prime minister. One is the religious Fadhilah party and the other is the powerful movement led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Rival Shiite groups have waged bloody power struggles for preeminence in oil-rich southern Iraq.
"Our strength is in our unity," Hakim said. "The bigger the circle of participation, the stronger we will be in solving our problems.
"I call on lawmakers to speed the passage of key legislation," he said, referring to measures on sharing Iraq's oil wealth, on regional elections and on the return to the government of figures from the Saddam Hussein era.
His pointed words echoed frustration voiced by many in Iraq and the United States over what appears to be foot-dragging by Maliki and the country's fractured parliament to adopt reforms.