The Common Ills: Iraq: Officials brawl, Haider courts Big Oil, Nouri hides out in Iran

The assault on Anbar Province was sold as needed and with the Iraqi forces and officials willing and ready. And then the assault vanished from the view of the press -- because it wasn't going well.

All these weeks later, there are still no 'victories' to claim.

And maybe that's why officials reacted as they did today?

The Washington Post's Loveday Morris Tweets:

1. Loveday Morris ‏@LovedayM 14 minutes ago
  
  Fists fly, chairs thrown as tribal sheikhs meet in #Baghdad to discuss Anbar liberation. One of several scuffles:
  
  24 retweets 6 favorites

Ramadi fell in April. The press treated the promise of prosecutions by Haider al-Abadi as 'news' or at least as gossip.

As they rushed to hail Haider (on his terms), they forgot their duty to point out that not only was Haider prime minister in April of this year, but he was in DC at the time and instead of immediately ordering armed forces to protect Ramadi, he sent them to Baiji . . . to protect . . . an oil refinery.

Middle East Monitor reports today:

The Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi reassured oil companies operating in the country that his government will protect their businesses and employees after tensions erupted near the southern oil fields.
Al-Abadi’s assurances came during his visit to the West Qurna 2 oilfield in Basra yesterday where he met with managers in the Russian Lukoil company which operates the oilfield, according to a statement issued by the premier’s office.

There's a great deal of mismanagement going on.

Going on.

Current.

Nouri al-Maliki oversaw mismanagement, corruption, War Crimes and so much more.

A Parliamentary investigation into the 2014 fall of Mosul to the Islamic State has found much fault to distribute and the bulk of it lands at Nouri's feet.

AFP's WG Dunlop Tweets:

Nouri skirted out of the country right before the (announced) release of the report and remains hiding in Iran where he's taken to giving near hourly breathless updates.

He's attacked the reports findings. He's attacked Turkey. He's denied any and all guilt.

Iraqi Spring MC notes he's found a new line of attack: Slamming the head of the Parliamentary Committee, insisting that the man stands accused of murder and kidnapping.

Does the man stand accused of that?

Because Nouri stands accused of mismanagement of the armed forces (to put it kindly) and corruption.

Nouri's hourly bulletins might carry some weight (not much) if he made them from Iraq instead of hiding in Iran.

But that is his pattern, after all.

Flee Iraq whenever he wants.

And this is the man that Bully Boy Bush installed as prime minister (in 2006) and that Barack insisted get a second term (after losing the 2010 elections).

Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Hillary Responds to Rumors." went up last night. The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, The NewsHour and Black Agenda Report -- updated: