 |
 |
More than 400 people have died in Iraq since the U.S. withdrawal in mid-December. Coupled with the political struggles that broke out days after U.S. troops departed, Iraq’s worsening instability leaves little hope for developments that could augur an end to the crisis.
January 28-February 3, 2012. Iraqiyya Returns to Parliament, Three Options to Resolve the Mutlaq Case, Some Positive Signs for National Conference.
January 20-27, 2012. Iraqiyya Contemplates Next Move, Turkey-Iraq Rift Continues, National Conference Initiative Loses Momentum.
January 1-13, 2012. Kurds Walk Out of Parliament Session in Protest, Debate to Form National Conference Continues, Hashemi Wants Relocation of Court Trial.
Last week, a troubling political crisis emerged in Baghdad that has placed Iraq on a worrisome path that could potentially unravel and threaten its stability.
We interrupt President Obama’s celebration of keeping a campaign promise to bring you news from Iraq, where a political crisis has been unfolding since just hours after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta departed on Thursday.
The Obama administration had three years to push Iraqis toward genuine national reconciliation, the most critical component in securing a stable Iraq over the long term. The White House failed to leave behind a representative government that respects the concept of power-sharing and the rule of law under the Iraqi Constitution. Instead, the central government headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is riddled with sectarian and authoritarian elements that were bound to capitalize and expand after the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq.
'Iran and Turkey now have more influence and they are taking advantage of what the U.S. has sacrificed for in Iraq.'
Read the entire article
Upon taking office in 2009, President Obama inherited a winning hand in Iraq—and yet his administration has played it like a losing one.
Will the Iraqi government be prepared to take over?