The Common Ills: The return of Moqtada

Thursday, September 12, 2013

The return of Moqtada

The big Iraq news today? Kitabat reports cleric and movement Moqtada al-Sadr has finished trips to Lebanon and Jordan and paid his respects to his late father at the Najaf shrine and is now ready to re-enter political life. Moqtada has surprised many by announcing he was stepping away from politics. Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi publicly called for Moqtada to return to politics. Allawi's sentiments were echoed by Iraqis of all sects, not just Shi'ite members of Moqtada's movement. In a statement issued today, Moqtada acknowledged those calls and announces he will heed them.

Some felt the move was a stunt and said so in real time. Whether it was a stunt or not (it felt like a real announcement and decision to me when he announced he was walking away from politics), the move underscores how important Moqtada has become to Iraqi politics and how he could command respect in the role of prime minister. Because of the stances he has taken in the last three years, Moqtada the politician is seen as fighting for the interests of Iraq. That's a huge shift from the early years of the war when Moqtada was seen by many Iraqis as only interested in Shi'ites (and only in fundamental ones at that).

Of all the leaders decrying the occupation, Moqtada was viewed with the most suspicion outside his Shi'ite followers. That might have had to do with youth. It might have been that he was being judged against his father (a problem Ammar al-Hakim is still struggeling with). There was an understandable and natural rallying around Moqtada in early 2008 as Nouri attacked Basra and Sadr City. But with his public return to Iraq just a few years ago, Moqtada has made for a more worldly and mature figure. In statements and actions, he's made nods to Sunnis and Kurds and to a more inclusive Iraq.

Iraqis of all sects have grown weary of the violence and of the leaders like Nouri who only represent a part of Iraq and whose actions are attacks on other Iraqis. At a time when the Iraqi people are feeling a universal kinship with one another (which is the only reason a full blown civil war is not taking place currently) Moqtada has emerged as a national figure embracing a national Iraqi identity.

Nouri al-Maliki wants a third term. Whether he's worked that out with the US or not, he wants it. Ayad Allawi remains a powerful political rival but Moqtada is the truly threatening one for and to Nouri.

Turning to violence, National Iraqi News Agency reports a Ramadi bombing claimed 3 lives and left four people injured, 1 army captain was shot dead in Mosul, 1 corpse was discovered in Mosul (17-year-old male who had previously been taken into custody by the military), and a Ramadi car bombing claimed 2 lives and left two more people injured. Lu Hui (Xinhua) reports, "Three soldiers were killed and 31 soldiers and would-be soldiers wounded in a suicide truck bomb attack targeting an Iraqi army recruitment center near the northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday, a local police source said." KUNA notes a Ramadi home bombing which "killed three and injured three others including women and children." On violence, UNAMI issued the following today:

Baghdad, 12 September 2013 – The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (DSRSG), Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, condemns in the strongest terms yesterday’s suicide bomb attack against a mosque in the northern area of Baghdad, which killed and injured dozens of worshipers, as they were exiting after evening prayers.
“This heinous act of violence which shocked the country, shall not undermine the belief in peaceful coexistence among the Iraqi people,” Mr. Busztin said, extending his deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Iraq needs a Special Representative not a deputy. If you're going to have Gyorgy Busztin do the work and he's going to handle the job (he has), then name him to the position. I think he's already performing the job better than Martin Kobler did. I also think it's unfair to ask someone to temporarily do a job for more than six weeks. If Busztin is not named Special Representative, then he needs to be assigned to head a UN mission elsewhere. It is not recognizing his talents or appreciating them to put him under someone else as deputy. My opinion.

Sunday, we noted Nineveh Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi had an arrest warrant out. Alsumaria notes that al-Nujaifi appeared before the Integrity Committee today in Baghdad and the warrant has been rescinded. While Atheel was in Baghdad, his brother was in Turkey. All Iraq News notes Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss mutual relations and how to ease tensions. Furthest distance traveled for a meeting this week may go to the Kurds. Hurriyet Daily News reports:

A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is in Washington to hold meetings with U.S. officials, including senators, congressmen, think tank policy researchers and companies to update them on developments in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and the wider region.
Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, and Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG High Representative to the U.K., met Brett McGurk, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran and Iraq at the Department of State, and Kelly Clements, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration, the KRG website reported.

The following community sites -- plus The Diane Rehm Show, ACLU, Dissident Voice Ms. magazine's blog, Susan's On the Edge, Jody Watley, Antiwar.com and Pacifica Evening News -- updated last night: