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Another illusion out of the Iraqi hat By Sami Moubayed
warnings and went ahead with a planned summit with Bush in Amman. Muqtada
threatened to suspend his group's participation in Parliament and with the
Maliki government, but Maliki paid little attention, apparently under the
urging of Hakim.
Muqtada walked out, but Maliki did not seem to care - for a while - and was
supported in his "coup" against the Sadrists by the Kurds, the Sunnis and the
Americans.
But the hanging of Saddam forced Iraq's Shi'ites to close ranks, in
light of rising Sunni anger against both Muqtada and Maliki. Now, Muqtada has
rejoined the Maliki regime, with 30 deputies in Parliament and six ministers in
the cabinet.
Muqtada even proposed replacing his ministers with technocrats, according to
Sadrist Nassar al-Rubai, who spoke to the London-based Al-Hayat. He said "our
decision was not the result of pressure" but rather, it was due to "the poor
conduct of the government" and to prove "our good intentions" in supporting the
government and the political process.
Apparently, Muqtada and Maliki are pandering to the Sunnis, telling them what
they want to hear. The term "poor conduct of the government" and the concept of
replacing religiously driven Shi'ite ministers with technocrats are aimed at
pacifying Sunni fears.
For long Sunnis have complained that Maliki's ministers are chosen for their
Shi'ite loyalties rather than for their professional merit. This was a major
problem for both Maliki and his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose
insistence on appointing a religious Shi'ite at the Ministry of Interior
infuriated Sunnis, claiming that the post, along with its police apparatus, was
being used to persecute Sunnis.
Muqtada's man also told Al-Hayat that he objected to confessionalism in
political posts, arguing that officials should be appointed on credentials
rather than religious sect - another term that sounds music to the ears of
Sunnis.
Muqtada has even sent Maliki a list of possible candidates for the new posts,
replacing his own six ministers with independents, so as to please Sunnis.
Wanting to appear appeasing, but not too appeasing, another Sadrist official
added that although the movement is making encouraging gestures to all parties
involved in the political process (Sunnis), it has no intention whatsoever to
dismantle the Mehdi Army.
Cleric Wamid al-Ubaid said, "It is not that easy to dismantle this [Mehdi]
Army. It is an ideological force that was born out of the lack of security in
some districts of Iraq and the attacks by some Saddamists and takfiris [people
declaring everybody but themselves to be unbelievers] on Shi'ite districts."
Muqtada is under heavy pressure to dismantle the army, he added, and has even
brought the matter before the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Although leading
Shi'ite cleric Sistani is a wise man who is unimpressed by Muqtada's
revolutionary and adventurous conduct, and is even threatened by his rising
cult status in Shi'ite politics, Sistani very well might have advised against
dismantling the Mehdi Army at this stage.
Because of rising Sunni anger in Iraqi with Shi'ites, there is a need for some
kind of credible, loyal and experienced armed protection for Shi'ite
neighborhoods. Sistani cannot provide this; Muqtada can.
In essence, rising Sunni anger over the hanging of Saddam united Shi'ites and
saved Muqtada from a political coup that could have destroyed him, launched by
his many political enemies.
For now, Muqtada's alliance with Maliki is back on track. At the same time, in
a telephone conversation over the weekend, Bush renewed his "political support"
for Maliki and his security plan for Baghdad. So did the Sadrists, "so long as
the security plan targets terrorism".
Maliki's plan involves "disarming all groups and only leaving weapons in the
hands of the government". Muqtada replied that all districts under his control
were ready to be monitored and protected by the security plan.
The mayor of Sadr City, acting on orders from Muqtada, ordered that no weapons
appear on the streets of the neighborhood, a way of helping the prime minister
gain credibility.
Maliki and Muqtada are now working to save each other from Sunni anger and to
bring some kind of security to Baghdad. Recent history, however, indicates that
they have a very difficult task ahead.
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