Iraq crisis: Parliament in deadlock as Isis advance continues

[Jefferson23]

The Iraqi parliament closed its inaugural session after two hours because political parties have not decided on new leaders to seek a way out of the crisis caused by the fall of Mosul and the takeover of much of northern and western Iraq last month by Isis.

The likely outcome of the first sessions of the new parliament chosen in an election on 30 April will be the replacement of Nouri al-Maliki, the Prime Minister since 2006, who has been discredited by military disasters. Many Iraqis see his image as a sectarian Shia leader hated by most of the Sunni community, as ruling out any role for him in any compromise with the Sunni.

The wrangling by the parties over who should be the new parliamentary speaker (normally a Sunni), President (a Kurd) and Prime Minister (Shia) may confirm Iraqis in their low opinions of the competence and honesty of MPs. “The parties are all corrupt and all they want to do is steal,” said Abu Ali, a Trade Ministry employee, about the new parliament. “Some of them get their orders from Saudi Arabia or Iran. The Iraqi people can go to hell for all they care.”

Few Iraqis are optimistic about their representatives or are hopeful that they can cope with the present crisis. Saleh Daoud, a small businessman, said: “People say that 70 to 75 per cent of the old faces are back in the new parliament so there is no real change. There will be the same corruption and no services for the people.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-crisis-parliament-in-deadlock-as-isis-advance-continues-9577342.html

[bemildred]

1. As I understand it, the Kurds and the Sunni both left just to make sure no business got done. nt

[Jefferson23]

4. Thanks, bemildred. n/t

[bemildred]

6. Iraq's Parliament Adjourns Without Decision on Maliki

Loud arguments and mass walkouts disrupted Iraq's new parliament on Tuesday. The governing body failed to elect a new speaker and further frustrated hopes that the politicians would unite to confront the country's Sunni-led uprising.

BAGHDAD—Amid loud bickering and walkouts, the opening session of Iraq's new parliament failed to take a critical first step toward forming a government that can confront a Sunni uprising overrunning large parts of the country.

The constitution obliged parliament to elect a new speaker at the first session, one of the country's three key leadership positions along with the president and the prime minister. But legislators who have been negotiating for weeks over who will fill the three slots remain gridlocked over Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bid for a third term.

The Obama administration exhorted the Iraqi parliament to quickly appoint a new government, warning that the Sunni insurgency that began three weeks ago won't be quelled without creation of a politically inclusive regime. The U.S. and others have blamed Mr. Maliki in part for the sprawling insurgency, saying his Shiite-dominated government wasn't representative of the country's patchwork of sects.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqs-parliament-adjourns-without-decision-on-maliki-1404212656

Edit: you are welcome Jefferson

[Eleanors38]

2. Smells like Vietnam...

As the NVA advanced on Saigon in 1975, the South Vietnamese parliament was meeting where the chief order of biz was gaining appointments and portfolio. Detachment from reality was complete.

[quadrature]

3. al-Maliki is bombing Karbala

from Twitter reports.

Maliki is bombing something in Karbala.
also.
Hasani has declared jihad on Maliki

[bemildred]

5. Really moving right along now.

You can tell everybody has been chomping at the bit. You can bet al-Maliki is pissed, here he was just elected and now it's all in ruins.

[quadrature]

7. some advice for al-Maliki . don't get mad ...

get even.

you can bet everyone else
wants to.

[bemildred]

8. Iraqi troops clash with Shi'ite loyalists

Iraqi government troops have clashed overnight with followers of prominent Shi'ite cleric Mahmoud al-Sarkhi in the holy southern province of Karbala, medical officials say, as the country is roiled by a Sunni-led insurgency.

The clashes erupted after security forces barred al-Sarkhi's loyalists from praying in a holy shrine in Karbala, witnesses said.

The violence, which continued until early on Wednesday, resulted in an unspecified number of casualties on both sides, according to medics.

Local authorities imposed a curfew in Karbala, about 118 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad, in an attempt to bring the situation under control.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/02/iraqi-troops-clash-shiite-loyalists

[Jefferson23]

9. Geeze, onward they go..thanks again for adding to this thread..appreciated. n/t

[bemildred]

10. Chaos looms.

You can always bet on the monkey politics to overwhelm pragmatism once the violence starts.

[Jefferson23]

11. Yea, the pragmatic ship is gone..more terrible deaths to come. :(

[Jefferson23]

12. Patrick Cockburn: Looking for a third force

July 02, 2014
Print Send to Friend

Defenders of the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, sometimes concede that he is a well-meaning windbag but argue that, if he does little good as he rushes around the world, he has done little real harm.

But going by his latest foray to Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, this estimate may have to be revised. As the situations in Iraq and Syria deteriorate after the fall of northern Iraq to radical fighters, Kerry brings to these twin crises a shallowness of understanding that can only make them worse.

Take the secretary of state’s latest idea about what to do in Syria and Iraq, expressed at the start of a meeting with the Syrian opposition leader, Ahmad Al Jarba, in Jeddah last week. Kerry said that “obviously, in light of what has happened in Iraq, we have even more to talk about in terms of the moderate opposition in Syria, which has the ability to be a very important player in pushing back against the presence of ISIS and to have them not just in Syria, but also in Iraq.” The fogginess of the sentence probably reflects Kerry’s befuddled thought processes about what is happening.

But for all their wooliness, Kerry’s words reveal that he is the victim of two important misconceptions about what is happening in Syria and Iraq. The extent of American policy failure, which led to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (variously called either ISIL or ISIS) taking over a great swath of territory since the fall of Mosul on 10 June, has been understated.

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/fcc32e1d-e394-471e-8abb-d10a3b294db8.aspx

[quadrature]

13. is Kerry really the problem?

IMO.
Kerry knows better.

but he is ordered to play
along with the script