Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki Agrees To Step Down

 

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki Agrees To Step Down // Stephanie Gaskell

The writing was on the wall and embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki knew it. By Stephanie Gaskell http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2014/08/iraqi-prime-minister-maliki-agrees-step-down/91523/?oref=defenseone_today_nl

Nouri al-Maliki's Tenure as Iraq's Prime Minister in 5 Charts // Jason Karaian

Iraq's recent rise in violence against civilians bookends the outgoing prime minister's time in charge. By Jason Karaian http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2014/08/nouri-al-malikis-tenure-iraqs-prime-minister-5-charts/91421/?oref=defenseone_today_nl

Daily News Brief August 15, 2014

Top of the Agenda

Nouri al-Maliki Finally Steps Down

After eight years in power, Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki announced late Thursday that he would resign and endorse Haider al-Abadi (Reuters), the longtime political ally chosen by al-Maliki's own political bloc to succeed him and form the country's next government. The White House commended the move (FT), saying it marked "encouraging developments" that Washington hoped could set Iraq on "a new path." The resignation follows weeks of international and domestic pressure on al-Maliki, who has been accused of exacerbating the country's sectarian divisions and facilitating the arrival of the Sunni Islamist insurgency engulfing the country (AP).

Analysis

"The key challenge facing any post-Maliki government, however, remains overcoming the alienation of Sunni Arabs from the new order in Baghdad – a situation that has had no small part in enabling the rapid spread of Islamic State across northern Iraq. It's not clear that Abadi replacing Maliki at the head of the dominant Shia coalition will necessarily result in Sunni reintegration," writes Tom Kutsch for al-Jazeera.

"Mr Obama's idea of a self-regulating balance of power has dissolved in an acid cocktail of state failure, sectarian savagery and a jihadist rampage so confident that almost every armed force in the Levant is melting before its onslaught," writes David Gardner for the Financial Times.

"Even in the best of scenarios, ISIS will hold territory in Syria and Iraq for some time to come. The United States has taken steps to improve its tactical intelligence. Yet, given the long-term nature of the threat and of American interests in the region, more work is needed improving strategic intelligence," writes CFR's David Palkki.