America and Iran Prepare
Ground for Iraq Civil War
"In the shadow of an
occupation that turned every aspect of Iraqi life into a genuine hell, the
situation is very dangerous and about to lead to a popular explosion … in light
of the quickly-approaching conflict over the government stalemate, one can
expect the civil and sectarian war sought by some and insisted on by Iran. The
Iraqi scene today is an American-Iranian war on the soil of Iraq - paid for by
the badly-wounded people of Iraq."
The Iraqi political scene has
become increasingly ambiguous and complicated since the visit of U.S. Vice President
Joseph Biden to Iraq. The jockeying for power among the most influential political
blocs is fast becoming a dispute about the form of the new government: whether
those who fill key positions will be more loyal to America or Iran.
This dark backdrop makes forming
a new government impossible, particularly after the new National Assembly cancelled
its July 13session until further notice. This throws everyone in
the government, National Assembly, governing groups and political blocs into a
tunnel darker and longer than before. And this, despite Biden’s visit and the
baton he brandished at the State of Law
Coalition, the Iraqi National
Alliance and the Kurdistan
Alliance, when he insisted on the "necessity of forming a government
based on the results of the elections,” in other words, on the right of Iraqiya
to form a government. [graphic below]
Biden intended to nudge
matters toward the formation of a new government by informing the Kurdish
Alliance that the office of president of the Republic should not be limited to
the Kurds, and he did the same with the National Alliance and specifically Ammar al-Hakim, who was
informed during their meeting that it would be preferable for his alliance to remain
in the opposition and not participate in the new government.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
This is intended to exclude groups
loyal to Iran from the political scene, since Iran is seen as having played a negative
role within the government by supporting militant groups who commit bombings,
bank robberies and arson at government agencies and departments. Biden also put
the State of Law
Coalition and specifically al-Maliki in a tight spot by informing him of
the flat refusal of other government factions to accept the prime minister for
a second term. This came in the wake of statements by the National Alliance and
Kurdish Alliance, in which Kurdistan President Massoud
Barzani personally informed Maliki that his nomination for a second term was
a “red line.”
So what's standing in the way
of the formation of a new government? It would be naive to suggest that the way
is now open for the Allawi List [al-Iraqiya]. Direct and public Iranian interference is blocking it, and leaked
remarks about an upcoming visit by a senior Iranian official reinforce the
point.
It is Iran that stands behind
the failure of the State
of Law or al-Iraqiya
coalitions, or any other coalition, that won't guarantee strong Iranian
influence in Iraq and its declared and implicit strategic interests.
The openly hesitant Obama Administration
lacks firmness, “dotting the i's and crossing the t's” for anyone who might oppose the
formation of a government made up of those who cling to power and are willing
to shatter Iraq's domestic situation if denied the post of prime minister and
other key positions. In the mean time, all of this occurs just as an American
newspaper bursed a proverbial balloon in the face of Kurds and their alliance
by outlining the smuggling of oil to Iran in violation of international
sanctions against the Tehran regime. [Smugglers
in Iraq Blunt Sanctions Against Iran, The New York Times].
This is Washington's way of pressuring
and perhaps forcing the Kurdistan Alliance into an alliance with al-Iraqiya to
form a government and diminish the influence of Iran. With this heated
backdrop, the Obama Administration seeks to confirm its scheduled withdrawal by
August in a way that will ensure the security of its military occupation and
make its pull out easy and transparent.
This won’t be possible in the
shadow of a government loyal to Iran and supported by special groups, death
squads, the Mahdi Army
and pro-Iranian al-Quds
Brigade, which are present in every southern province. The entire scene is
headed into the unknown. The whole political process is at a critical turning point,
engulfing everyone in the mud of the occupation and its devastating consequences,
its unpredictability and the failure of U.S. policy in occupied Iraq.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Added to this is Obama's
failed strategy to redress the mistakes of his murderous predecessor Bush and his
clan's criminal hubris which eventually ensnared him in the quagmire of Iraq. In
the shadow of an occupation that turned every aspect of Iraqi life into a genuine
hell, the situation is very dangerous and about to lead to a popular explosion.
According to our reading of
the fractious political landscape and the scramble for seats of power, a
new government won't be forthcoming anytime soon. And in light of the
quickly-approaching conflict over the government stalemate, one can expect the
civil and sectarian war sought by some and insisted upon by Iran through its influence
and agents in Iraq. The Iraqi scene today is an American-Iranian war on the
soil of Iraq - paid for by the badly-wounded people of Iraq.
