al-Maliki steps aside
So, Iraq has one less battle to fight this morning as we learn that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced to his party that he’ll step aside so that Haider al-Abadi can lead the government against the ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State forces at the gates of Baghdad according to Fox News;
The U.S. and other countries have been pushing for an inclusive government that will ease anger among Sunnis, who felt marginalized by al-Maliki’s administration, helping fuel the dramatic sweep by the Islamic State extremist group over much of northern and western Iraq since June.
“Today, Iraqis took another major step forward in uniting their country,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice said in a statement Thursday. “We commend Prime Minister al-Maliki for his decision to support Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi in his efforts to form a new government in line with the Iraqi constitution.”
Hopefully, al-Abadi will be able to unify the people, not just the Party or just the Shia against the barbaric invaders. So, it’s one less thing.
Category: Terror War
No doubt he will soon head to Paris with his C-130 loaded with gold and US currency. It seems they all do in the end. Except of course Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Ladin.
This is possibly the best news to come from the Middle East in quite some time. I just wonder how much it cost the American tax payer to fund his retirement home in Qatar.
Here is what’s going on right now:
Mosul Dam: Aug 16, 2014, 02:05 AM GMT (19m)
Editor’s note: @CNN is reporting a US and Iraqi military operation to retake Mosul Dam was set to begin Friday 6pm ET. This coincides with a report from Kurdish local media indicating an airstrike was underway in Mosul just after midnight local time. We’ll be looking for additional sources and information. – JimmyRead more on edition.cnn.com
In addition, with the removal of al-Maliki from the Baghdad seat he tried so hard to keep, Hezbollah (Lebanon) has declared IS to be a growing monster, per Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-lebanon-hezbollah-islamicstate-idUSKBN0GF0Y720140815
And Iraqi Sunnis are now offering to join the fight against the ISers:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/15/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0GF0Z620140815
My reaction to this is:
1 – They’ll have a confab, including the Saudis before Aug. 25
2 – They’ll agree to form an alliance, including Iran, to fight/defeat/destroy the ISers
3 – A Middle East War will be the Muslim states pitted against the ISers, some time around August 29.
If so, let them have it. They are sovereign states. These are ancient disputes, anyway, and they can settle it themselves without involving the US or the EU nations. We should not go in unless there is a specific need, like food and medical assistance.
It’s their fight.
That’s all I have to say.