Al-Jaafari Named to Head Iraq's New Gov't

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_politics

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite lawmakers Sunday chose Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to head Iraq's new government, Shiite officials said.

Al-Jaafari won 64 votes, one more than Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, officials said. There were two abstentions.

More than 100 lawmakers from the Shiite coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, gathered to vote.

The choice of the umbrella Shiite alliance is assured of becoming prime minister because Shiites won the most parliament seats in the Dec. 15 national elections.

Shiite lawyers cast their votes at the heavily guarded home of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the head of Abdul-Mahdi's party. Al-Jaafari's supporters gathered in the compound cheered when word of the outcome emerged from the closed door meeting room.

.... so can the troops come home now?

[USA_1]

1. Al-Jafaari: TERRORIST!

http://www.meib.org/articles/0306_iraqd.htm

Al-Jafaari belongs to the al-Daawa party that was involved in the terrorist bombing of the US Embassy in Kuwait. He and others conspired to kill Americans and French officials. His party is known for having inventing the use of suicide bombings.

Instead of putting him at the head of the government in Iraq, he should be on trial for conspiracy to commit murder. There is no statute of limitations for murder but the fact that Bush uses a murderer like him should come as no surprise to anyone.

All the more reason to IMPEACH BUSH!

[moondust]

2. Tough luck, KKKarl.

Somebody took Allawi's job. :cry:

[Teaser]

3. We wanted Abdul Mahdi

because, although he has close ties to Iran, he wants to privatize everything.


Even after we've turned a country to shit, set it spinning into civil war, our priorities are still making sure everyone is "free market" enough.
Disgusting.

[bemildred]

4. Backed by Radical Cleric, Iraqi Prime Minister Retains Post

Mr. Jaafari, a moderate Islamist, has been widely criticized as a weak leader over the past year and was considered a long shot to continue in his post. But he defeated his main rival 64 to 63 in a secret ballot this morning after gaining support from followers of Moktada al-Sadr, the renegade Shiite cleric who is outspoken in his hostility to the United States.

Mr. Sadr's followers now control the largest bloc of seats — 32 out of 130 — within the Shiite alliance. They decided to vote for Mr. Jaafari after he promised to help implement their political program, said Bahaa al-Aaraji, a sitting member of parliament and a spokesman for the Sadr movement.

Mr. Aaraji would not say exactly what the prime minister had agreed to. Mr. Jaafari may also have benefited from Mr. Sadr's longstanding grudge against the religious Shiite party to which Mr. Jaafari's main rival belongs.

But Mr. Jaafari's surprise victory illustrated the growing political power of Mr. Sadr, who led two bloody uprisings against the American occupation and the interim Iraqi government in 2004 and has made clear that he favors a prompt American withdrawal from Iraq. In recent visits to Iran and Syria, Mr. Sadr has expressed solidarity with the leaders of those countries and angry opposition to American policy toward them. Mr. Sadr also commands the Mahdi Army, a broad-based militia that has been largely quiet since 2004, but it is still armed and is said to be behind some recent deadly attacks on British troops in Basra.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/international/middleeast/12cnd-iraq.html?ei=5088&en=d36ccc5049259e22&ex=1297400400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print