Quel avenir pour l'Irak ? Iran Threatens to Block Oil in Reply to Sanctions. Iraq: The gloves come off. Washington, DC - I must confess I didn't see it coming.
Yes, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has always shown autocratic tendencies, unsurprisingly given the traditional political role models with which Iraqis are working. And yes, he has long over-centralised security power in his own hands, maintaining personal control over the Interior, Defence and National Security Ministries and making the Baghdad Operations Command directly answerable to his personal office.
Iraq militia says ready to lay down weapons, says ready to take part in politics as ‘opposition’ The leader of Asaib al-Haq, a Shiite militia which carried out some of the most prominent attacks on foreigners during the Iraq war, said the group will lay down its weapons and is prepared to join the political process. “This stage of the military conflict between the Iraqi armed resistance and the occupation forces is over, with a distinct, historic Iraqi victory and a distinct, historic U.S failure,” Qais al-Khazali told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. Khazali also said the group was willing to hand over the remains of British bodyguard Alan McMenemy, kidnapped along with four others in 2007, without conditions.
“We believe that we have carried out our role regarding the liberation of our country and restoring its sovereignty. This political achievement could not have been done without the Iraqi armed resistance,” cleric Khazali said.