By JUSTIN BERGMAN
Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday that the continued flow of weapons, suicide bombers and terrorism funding into his country would result in “disastrous consequences” for the region and the world.

Al-Maliki, who met with President Bush Tuesday, urged the international community and countries in the region to support Iraq’s national reconciliation process to rid terrorism from the country and bring peace to the region.

“National reconciliation is stronger than the weapons of terrorism,” he said. “Today we feel optimistic that countries of the region realize the danger of the terrorist attacks against Iraq, that it is not in their interest for Iraq to be weak.”

Al-Maliki said his country had reduced sectarian killings and brought stability to some regions, such as Anbar province in the west. He said thousands of displaced families have been able to return to their homes.

He said Iraq also has hundreds of political parties active within 20 political alliances; more than 6,000 civil organizations; hundreds of newspapers and magazines and 40 local and satellite TV stations. But terrorists are targeting this “new Iraq,” he said.

“Terrorism kills civilians, journalists, actors, thinkers and professionals. It attacks universities, marketplaces and libraries. It blows up mosques and churches and destroys the infrastructure of state institutions,” al-Maliki said.

read more HERE

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In terms of troop sacrifice and American dollars, how much has it cost so far to bring democracy to Iraq? Seems inconsequential to Levin. Let’s pull a Saddam on Maliki’s ass and START OVER!

OK. He didn’t make that drastic of a call. But, at this point in the game, it sure feels like it!

Senator Calls for Maliki’s Ouster

Levin Urges Iraqis To Replace Leaders

Declaring the government of Iraq “non-functional,” the influential chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday that Iraq’s parliament should oust Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his cabinet if they are unable to forge a political compromise with rival factions in a matter of days.

“I hope the parliament will vote the Maliki government out of office and will have the wisdom to replace it with a less sectarian and more unifying prime minister and government,” Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) said after a three-day trip to Iraq and Jordan.

Levin’s statement, the most forceful call for leadership change in Iraq from a U.S. elected official, comes as about two dozen lawmakers are traveling to Iraq during Congress’s August break to glean firsthand assessments before receiving a progress report next month from Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander there, and Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador.

Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post Staff Writer

Source: WashingtonPost.com

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Leaders worry about how history will label them. Adolf Hitler once said he wanted nothing to be written on his tombstone - the name would explain itself. Hitler might have thought he would be remembered as a great leader who brought pride and justice to Germany. Most recall him as a failed military leader who destroyed Europe.

Similarly, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki - whose days in office are surely numbered - might want to to be remembered as the man who brought democracy and justice to Iraqis; the man who rooted out terrorism and killed al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Instead, Iraqis will remember Maliki as a selfish, sectarian politician who divided the country as never before, between Shi’ites and Sunnis. They will remember the death squads that flourished under his regime, the targeted assassinations of Sunni notables, and they will see him as a stooge of the Americans who was unable to fulfill any of the promises he made when coming to power in May 2006.

Maliki’s problem is that his government is not constitutional, as his cabinet no longer represents all parties that are seated in Parliament. Thirteen out of 37 ministers have walked out, and more are likely to follow soon.

Continue reading at the Asia Times

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Imagine how non-officials are feeling. The citizens of Iraq.

By Joshua Partlow and Robin Wright
Washington Post Foreign Service

BAGHDAD, June 20 — Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a senior Shiite politician often mentioned as a potential prime minister, tendered his resignation last week in a move that reflects deepening frustration inside the Iraqi government with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Other senior Iraqi officials have considered resigning in recent weeks over the failures of their government to make progress after more than a year in power, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials.

Abdul Mahdi said he was provoked by the second bombing of the Shiite shrine in Samarra on June 13, in which he said corrupt police abetted Sunni insurgents. “The two minarets were as important to us as September 11, and we should be accountable to the people,” Abdul Mahdi said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “We should be doing more to move in a positive direction — on corruption, accountability and defending the important sites.”

Abdul Mahdi’s attempted resignation, which has been held at bay by promises of action, is also a sign of growing disarray among the Shiites who lead the government.

More at the Washington Post

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Ahhhhhhhhh What’s Georgie’s response to this going to be?

CAIRO, Egypt - Iraq’s prime minister said Sunday that he has ordered a halt to the U.S. military construction of a barrier separating a Sunni enclave from surrounding Shiite areas in Baghdad after fierce criticism over the project at home.

The challenge to the U.S. initiative came as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began a regional tour to shore up support from mostly Sunni Arab nations for his Shiite-dominated government as sectarian violence persists despite a nearly 10-week-old security crackdown.

The U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile-long and 12-foot-tall concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold in northern Baghdad whose residents have often been the victims of retaliatory mortar attacks by Shiite militants following bombings usually blamed on Sunni insurgents.

Read more at Yahoo

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from “Crooks and Liars”

For the last several months, the White House and its allies have had a consistent message: debating the merit of the war in Iraq is an inherently bad idea. In February, when lawmakers were considering (and passing) a non-binding resolution criticizing the escalation strategy, Tony Snow went so far as to suggest that the debate itself brought “comfort” to terrorists.

A month later, when the House and Senate took up spending measures that included timelines for withdrawal, conservative war supporters said the very discussion sent a dangerous signal to the world, undermined the troops, and “emboldened the enemy.”

But when one cuts through the nonsense and the rhetoric, it looks like the Bush gang finds the Dems- efforts useful after all.

[Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Tuesday that] demands in the U.S. Congress for a timeline to withdraw American troops from Iraq are constructive because they exert pressure on Iraq’s leaders to forge compromises.

“The debate in Congress … has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited,” Gates told Pentagon reporters traveling with him in Jordan. “The strong feelings expressed in the Congress about the timetable probably has had a positive impact … in terms of communicating to the Iraqis that this is not an open-ended commitment.”

How about that, a “positive impact.” For literally months, the White House and its congressional sycophants have been arguing the exact opposite - that dissent is dangerous, that our enemies are listening, and that our troops are undermined when there are political divisions over war policy. But in reality, Dems are doing what the president refuses to do: pressuring Iraqis to step up.

cross posted at Crooksandliars.com

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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have released a senior aide to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.

Ahmed Shibani, who had been held for more than a year, is a senior aide to Sadr, a radical anti-American cleric who is also the leader of the Mehdi Army militia which Washington recently called the greatest threat to security in Iraq. Sadr’s political movement is an important part of the coalition government and holds several ministries.

“(Shibani) has been released this afternoon on the orders of Prime Minister Maliki,” an official in the prime minister’s office told Reuters.

Nassar al-Rubaei, head of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, said U.S. forces had been detaining Shibani without charge.

“We know that today he will be released by the occupation forces and delivered to the prime minister today to be freed,” he said.

Shibani was arrested in Najaf and was believed to be held at a U.S. base at the airport in Baghdad.

There was no immediate confirmation of Shibani’s release from the U.S. military.

Source: Reuters

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This is not the first time al Maliki has told them to keep their fight out of Iraq. Something tells me neither of these guys is listening.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is telling the United States and Iran to keep their fight out of Iraq.

Al-Maliki said he believes Iran is targeting U.S. forces in Iraq.

A U.S. official said Tuesday that the Pentagon is investigating whether Iran was behind a January 20 attack in Karbala that left five U.S. troops dead.

“We believe it’s possible the executors of the attack were Iranian or Iranian-trained,” the U.S. official said.

The sophistication of the attack, in which English’speaking guerrillas in American’style uniforms drove sport utility vehicles past checkpoints to attack a government compound, was beyond what insurgents in Iraq have shown they are capable of, U.S. officials said.

Whether Iran proves to be responsible for that attack or not, al-Maliki said his country cannot be a proxy battleground for Washington and Tehran.

“Iraq has nothing to do with the American-Iranian struggle, and we will not let Iran play a role against the American Army and we will not allow America to play a role against the Iranian army, and everyone should respect the sovereignty of Iraq,” al-Maliki said.

“We will not accept Iran to use Iraq to attack the American forces.”

Iran was a major topic Wednesday during CNN correspondent Michael Ware’s wide-ranging, exclusive interview with al-Maliki.

More at CNN.com

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