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[All Stories | The Bryan College Station Eagle] Iraq PM attacking Saddam loyalists | Bryan/College Station, Texas ...: He has vowed to do everything in his power to stop Baath Party loyalists from running in the upcoming parliamentary election. He has also insisted that Baathists, a term widely taken to mean Sunni Arabs, worked with al-Qaida to carry out massive suicide bombings targeting government buildings in Baghdad that killed at least 255 people in August and October.

[Informed Comment] Informed Comment: Iraq Accuses Baathists; <br> Election Law Still ...: The US also plays up Iran as a destabilizing force in Iraq, even though it is highly unlikely that Iran would want to destabilize the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad, and Washington has never presented convincing proof for the allegations.

[AskCherLock.com] AskCherLock.com » A Step Towards Armageddon: Once the Shi’ite-dominated Iraqi government is sufficiently threatened with civil war, it won’t be long before a call goes out for military help from Iran. Its southern neighbor, Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, is also patiently waiting for the opportunity to come to the assistance of its down-trodden Sunni brothers when civil war breaks out.

[Informed Comment] Informed Comment: Baghdad Devastated by Massive Blasts, 136 Killed ...: In a new disclosure, the senior U.S. military officer and another U.S. official, who also spoke on condition he not be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that an Iraqi working for U.S. intelligence alerted U.S. troops stationed near the al Qaqaa weapons facility that the installation was being looted shortly after the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003.

[The Nation: The Dreyfuss Report] The Iraqi Time Bomb: The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in September 2004 that: "From our point of view and the UN Charter point of view, it [the war] was illegal." The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court reported in February 2006 that he had received 240 communications in connection with the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 which alleged that various war crimes had been committed. The political leaders of the US and UK have argued the war was legal, while many legal experts and other international leaders have argued that it was illegal.

[KOSU Radio] Iraqi Election Plans In Limbo After Veto Of Key Law | KOSU Radio: Iraq’s Constitution calls for a new parliament to be elected by the end of January, when the current government’s mandate expires. Even a few more days of parliamentary delay could mean that election officials won’t be able to meet that deadline.

[The Best Defense] Iraq, the unraveling (XXXII): 13 dead in Anbar - By Tom Ricks ...: They regret boycotting the 2005 elections, and want to get places in government in this election before the U.S. withdraws because they're paranoid about what the Shiites might do with no American presence. The problem is they are completely divided, which means they will probably end up tokens in whatever government is formed between the Shiite and Kurdish parties.

[Iraq and Gulf Analysis] The Hashemi Veto « Iraq and Gulf Analysis: What we are seeing in practice is thus a gamble in which Hashemi is basically adopting the Kurdish position, as articulated during the first vote on the bill on 8 November. It is unclear whether this will endear him to the Iraqi nationalist voters in whose name he is seeking to speak (who would probably have been more impressed by a firmer position on Kirkuk).

[Informed Comment] Informed Comment: MPs Wounded in Blast; <br> al-Maliki Decries ...: As with Prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, they blamed remnants of the former, Baath, regime and "al-Qaeda" (Sunni fundamentalist militants). I was struck by how they for the most part responded technocratically, by pledging a review and an improvement of .

[SWJ Blog] 20 November SWJ Roundup (SWJ Blog): Metz concludes that the United States has a long-standing, continuing problem “developing sound assumptions when the opponent operates within a different psychological and cultural framework.” He sees a pattern of misjudgments about Saddam and Iraq based on Western cultural and historical bias and a pervasive faith in the superiority of America’s worldview and institutions. This myopia contributed to America being caught off guard by Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, then underestimating his longevity, and finally miscalculating the likelihood of a stable and democratic Iraq after he was toppled.

[Arab News Blog] Arab News Blog » MPs Wounded in Blast; al-Maliki Decries Baathists ...: As with Prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, they blamed remnants of the former, Baath, regime and “al-Qaeda” (Sunni fundamentalist militants). I was struck by how they for the most part responded technocratically, by pledging a review and an .

[Gorilla's Guides] Gorilla's Guides » Blog Archive » Iraqi premier says he fears ...: The second concerns a new coalition led by Ayad Alawi, a veteran Iraqi politician and a former Baath party official who turned against Saddam Hussein. Alawi is strengthening his coalition by luring both Sunni and Shiite factions disappointed with Maliki’s leadership.

[Photomaniacal] Photomaniacal » Blog Archive » News of the Day for Sunday ...: Iraqi Shiite protesters chant slogans against the veto made by Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president Tariq al-Hashemi on the election law, in front of a banner which reads in Arabic ' Nothing to fear on Iraq as long as Maliki is in power', in Najaf, .As efforts continue to resolve objections to the election law by Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders, the January election date now appears impossible.

[The Opinionator] The Bombs of Iraq - The Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com: Of course Maliki should reach out more to Sunnis, especially former members of the Awakening Movement, but if he does that right before the upcoming election, his compromise would surely be used effectively as a political weapon against him by the Shia right. If the recent bombings have actually been done by angry former Baathists and other Sunni insurgents (the journalist who threw his shoes was also a former Baathist), then it becomes even harder for Maliki to reach out to former Sons of Iraq.

[journey26.com] To Dohuk, Northern Iraq | journey26.com: Iraq was home to the earliest known civilization, the Sumerian civilization and Iraq has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6000 BC. Throughout its long history, Iraq has been the center of the Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid and Abbasid empires, and part of the Achaemenid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Ottoman and British empires.

[Jihad Watch] Fitzgerald: Sunnis, Shi'a, Kurds, and Infidels - Jihad Watch: And I'd rather have Syria interfare in Iraq than in Lebanon - the Syrian Alawite Baathists supporting the Shia, the Syrian Sunni masses supporting the Iraqi Baathists, Hizbullah supporting Moqtada al Sadr, and a great deal of pressure being taken off the Lebanese forces of Sameer Gaegae and off Israel.

[Hot Air » Top Picks] Hot Air » Blog Archive » Poll: Shiites, Kurds glad U.S. invaded ...: Considering that Shiite Arabs and Sunni Kurds make up 85-90% of the population, that's not a bad result at all. But look at the net totals, driven down by the unbelievably sour attitudes of Sunnis and the poll's oversampling.

[Iraq and Gulf Analysis] Why an Allawi-Hakim Alliance Would Mean Retrogression in Iraq ...: It seems likely that another aspect of this counter-strategy is to make things as difficult as possible for Maliki in his ongoing negotiations with Iraqi nationalists - it is for example remarkable how media close to ISCI (which have been pushing the anti-Baathist and anti-Syria message for a long time) suddenly stand back a little while allowing Maliki to get trapped by going so strongly after Damascus.  Nevertheless, with his greater degree of ideological consistency Maliki should still be taken seriously by forces eager to consolidate the signs of improved political atmosphere in Iraq seen over the past year or so.

Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Shiite, Iran Reviews