Saturday Afternoon Iraq Parliament News Highlights 8-27-2

Saturday Afternoon Iraq Parliament News Highlights 8-27-22

The Washington Institute: Al-Sadr And Al-Maliki Are Competing For Leadership Of Iraq's Shiites.[/Size]

Baghdad / Obelisk: A US report published by the Washington Institute stressed that letting the emerging democracy in Baghdad manage its affairs on its own has become a great risk.

The report, prepared by the director of the Arab Politics Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, David Schenker, confirmed that the approach adopted by the Biden administration later, which is based on non-interference in the process of government formation, has strengthened Iran's influence.

"For some unclear reason, it appears that Iraq - where the United States has fought two major wars in recent decades - is no longer a priority for Washington, but it is a priority for Tehran," the report added.

The obelisk publishes the report according to:

In light of Tehran's relentless efforts to reverse the effects of the setback it suffered in last year's elections, letting the emerging democracy in Baghdad manage its own affairs has become a huge risk.

About six weeks ago, US President Joe Biden boasted during an interview with The Washington Post that the Middle East had become "more stable and safer" than it was when he took power from his predecessor, Donald Trump. Among the examples he cited was Iraq, where the number of missile attacks against US soldiers and diplomats declined.

While he is right in terms of the decrease in the number of attacks targeting Americans, this measure alone is not sufficient to support his claim to the stability of the region. By almost all other measures, Iraq is less stable today than it was in January 2021—and threats to American interests there have only intensified.

It is a remarkable turn of events. Just 10 months ago, Iraq did not seem ready to form a government. Today, Iran's political allies in Iraq have the upper hand, the country's fragile democracy is more threatened than ever, and for the first time in a decade, the potential for violence even among Shiite groups is emerging.

But the situation could have been different. Muqtada al-Sadr was the biggest winner in the parliamentary elections that took place last October, and he is a cleric who called during his election campaign to build a [free] Iraq that is not dominated by neither Washington nor Tehran. Al-Sadr's coalition won the majority of the 329 seats in the House of Representatives.

The chest is not a panacea. In the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the "Mahdi Army" founded by Al-Sadr became one of the fiercest opponents of the US presence in Iraq, and the cleric was almost killed by US forces. However, al-Sadr has recently shown himself as a nationalist and a corruption fighter, criticizing the military activities carried out by the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq against American diplomats and soldiers.

To be sure, we do not know whether a cleric with fickle attitudes will eventually choose a religious system when he comes to power. At least in the aftermath of the elections, al-Sadr was ready to form a government coalition with a majority Shiites, including Sunnis and Kurds.

The report says that al-Sadr and al-Maliki have been competing for leadership of the Shiite community in Iraq since at least 2008, when government forces led by al-Maliki attacked the "Mahdi Army" that al-Sadr had established and defeated it in the "Battle of Basra."

Given this history of hostility, al-Sadr responded to the designation of the “coordinating framework” on July 25 for Maliki’s ally Muhammad Shia al-Sudani for the position of prime minister by instructing his supporters to occupy the House of Representatives and prevent voting to elect a prime minister, which they did as required. It seemed as if al-Sadr had followed in the footsteps of the rebels who stormed Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington.

Today, the Sadrists are no longer in the House of Representatives, but they are still present in the “international zone” (the “Green Zone”) across from the House of Representatives, to prevent the election of Al-Sudani. On the other hand, al-Sadr calls for the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections under an amended electoral law—demands opposed by the Coordination Framework.

As the stalemate continues, tensions are rising among Iraq's Shiites. Regardless of how to get out of this stalemate, Iran's influence in Baghdad is likely to increase, discouraging Iraqi voters who voted overwhelmingly for change last October.      https://almasalah.com/archives/13547

Al-Halbousi: The Government Will Not Be Able To Spend At The End Of The Year Until The End Of The Fiscal Year

Policy   2022-08-27 | 04:14  2,652 views    Alsumaria News – Politics    Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi called on Saturday the political forces to sit at the dialogue table and solve the current political crisis, while stressing that the current government will not be able to spend at the end of this year.

Al-Halbousi said in his speech during  Islamic Conference to combat violence against women”

Alsumaria news   "We renew our support for the national dialogue initiative to bring together the parties in order to address the crisis," stressing "all parties must take a serious stand regarding the disruption of constitutional and legislative institutions."

He added, "At the end of this year, the current government will not be spending on any side until the end of the fiscal year," noting that "the constitution does not allow any party to disrupt state institutions, although it guarantees peaceful protest and political activities."

Al-Halbousi stated, "The country's situation cannot continue in this state, and what we have reached today represents a regression from what we were before."     LINK

Al-Kazemi: We Are Going Through A Political Crisis That Threatens The Security Achievement, And Everyone Must Make Concessions

Policy  2022-08-27 | 04:02   Source:   Alsumaria news   1,785 views   And the caretaker prime minister stated, "The current government has done a lot to develop solutions to the many crises that Iraq has gone through, and today the National Dialogue Initiative presents what concerns us the security and safety of Iraqis."   LINK

The President Of The Republic: Political Stumbling Is Unacceptable, And Iraqis Will Not Allow Violence As A Solution To Their Problems

Policy   2022-08-27 | 03:54    Source:  Alsumaria news   1,632 views    Alsumaria News – Politics   The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, demanded, on Saturday, the political forces to end the political crisis and to resort to reason and the constitution to end the blockage, indicating that the challenges facing Iraq and the region necessitate that everyone align to end the crisis.

"Strengthening efforts to combat violence against women is a national task, and the security services must be supported in combating the phenomenon of human trafficking," Saleh said in his speech during the "Islamic Conference to Combat Violence against Women," which was followed by Alsumaria News.

He added that "the country is going through a delicate and sensitive circumstance and serious challenges, and the current political stumbling in the completion of the national constitutional entitlements after ten months of holding the elections is unacceptable."

He continued, "The dialogue option must be won, regardless of the degree of crisis and disagreement. There must be reform and addressing the existing imbalances in order to reach radical solutions that enable the Iraqis to build a real state that protects and serves the interests of all Iraqis," noting that "the political movement and the multiplicity of its tracks must not turn into A dispute threatens the integrity of the national project.”

And Saleh, that "political stumbling is unacceptable and Iraqis will not allow violence as a solution to their problems."    LINK

Addressing A Message To Al-Sadr.. Al-Hakim: Raising The Ceiling Of Political Demands Is Not A Solution

Policy 2022-08-27 | 03:38  Source:  Alsumaria news  13,923 views  Al-Hakim explained, "The mobilization of all social and political energies, their investment, and the unification of their compass represents the best solution for what we are going through. Iraq He pointed out that "the presence of everyone does not mean everyone's participation in government and executive work on the basis of quotas and negative consensus, but rather it means the effectiveness of everyone in decision-making, supporting achievements and successes, and providing constructive recommendations and proposals with which the state strengthens and the government succeeds in serving the citizens and their interests."

And he stated, "We have previously stated, and we affirm today once again that we are not participating in the next government booth, not out of an escape from responsibility, but out of a way to allow the prime minister to choose his successful and harmonious team.

The mistake is out of concern and constructive criticism away from weakening the state and its institutions, which is what we have always done in strengthening the state and its institutions.

He stated, "We affirm our call to all parties to give priority to the supreme national interest through cooperation and constructive dialogue, leaving emotions and accusations aside. We must all respect the opinion and the other opinion, and not be ashamed of any national energy that can participate in decision-making and present the best visions and projects, and it is not shameful to disagree."

In ideas and visions, but it is shameful that we do not find a solution to our problems and do not identify the common points of convergence that unite us in building the nation, safeguarding its interests, and strengthening the state.

He stressed that "many of the national projects proposed in our arena, which aim to develop the system, modify paths and correct mistakes, are true projects that we adopt and believe in their necessity, and we share with others from the benevolent forces to move them forward, and we have put forward many of them in the past decade."

The head of the Wisdom Movement said, "We still believe in the importance of achieving a new social and political contract that is more sober, developed and unanimous, and we still call for reviewing and developing many constitutional provisions that experience has proven to be incomplete or impractical.

We believe in the necessity of national alliances that cross sectarian and nationalism, and we stress the necessity of Overcoming negative quotas through the duality of (active majority and constructive opposition), and we also adopt the necessity of fair and balanced representation of social components and the management of diversity in our country.

He continued, "All these projects and others we have put forward and looked into, and we have taken the initiative to approach all parties with them previously, and we reiterate our position on the necessity of proceeding with them according to the following foundations:

First: Safe and logical progression.

We believe that major projects under democratic regimes need a tripartite maturation, consensus and codification, and it is not possible to rush and unilaterally proceed with them and bypass legal frameworks in imposing or passing them.

Large projects such as constitutional amendments, sensitive laws, and national strategies require the active participation of all social components and academic, cultural and youth elites to move them forward in a stable, non-active environment. They are not limited to parliamentary and political presence only, but are national issues that require real participation from all.

Second: Dialogue and Understanding:

The process of correction and change in democratic systems is based on effective dialogues and openness to opinion and the other opinion. As for imposing wills, exchanging accusations, and cutting bridges of dialogue, they are impenetrable dams against any positive and secure political and social transformation in the country.

Third: The right timings:

The safe democratic transition needs a sound environment and correct timings. What is required is to move to a more stable, strong and prosperous stage, not to impose on the state and society immediate and passive projects that will bring us out of a deep crisis to deeper and more complex crises.

We are in dire need of calming souls before amending texts, filtering intentions before settling accounts, accepting the other instead of omitting or ignoring it, and sharing and cooperating instead of dissonance and intersection.

Fourth: Mutual trust:

The lack of trust, suspicion of others, monopolizing the right to change, and ignoring others represent shocking and disruptive obstacles to any positive transformation in the country.

Al-Hakim called on "all parties, partners and brothers, whose sincerity, patriotism and good intentions I do not doubt, to give priority to the interest of the country, to shake hands with love and brotherhood, and to rely on each other to overcome the current crises together towards a secure and prosperous future for our people."

And the wise sent a message Muqtada al-Sadr And the

Sadrist Movement, saying: I tell them: (we were, are, and will remain the sons of one homeland, one history, one family, we should not be separated by differences of opinions and misunderstandings, and our unity should not be torn by the hands of sedition, ignorance and hatred), we have never given up on our fraternal relations with you, despite the media escalation.

And the erroneous practices that were issued against us and the state institutions and their disruption, and we were with other brothers from the national forces in the coordination framework and others, the first initiators to persuade you to refrain from boycotting the elections and the first to congratulate you on your victory in it and the first to support the project of the national majority with its required conditions, including preserving the position of the largest social component.

Al-Hakim continued, "We have been allies in many social and political fields for many years, and we appreciate and respect the sources of differences in viewpoints, and we do not see this as a reason for any tension, accusation or skepticism," explaining,

"We still believe with the brothers in the coordinating framework in the importance of the sons of  Sadrist Movement And their presence and effectiveness in decision-making centers and work in state institutions, not only according to their electoral eligibility, but also because of the presence of benevolent and patriotic energies in this current.

Al-Hakim pointed out that "the coordinating framework has made and is exerting maximum efforts to preserve national cohesion, the unity of the larger social component, and the true partnership in the decision.

Al-Hakim said, "Going to early elections needs parliamentary and legal preparations and discussions that make this option a practical, safe and acceptable path for all partners, and it is an option that can be discussed, understood and implemented after forming the new government, amending the electoral law, ensuring the integrity of the performance of the Independent High Electoral Commission and providing logistical and technical requirements." Required to hold fair elections that address the mistakes of the recent past and approve the country’s general budget,” he said, calling on “all parties to exercise the highest levels of political, popular and media restraint and to allow reason, logic and understanding to prevail.”   LINK