The Common Ills: Iraq snapshot

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Iraq snapshot

Thursday, October 25, 2018. Adel Abdul al-Mahdi proves to be so much like all that has come before.

Iraq has named a prime minister. We word that carefully because we should not say "new." All hopes that this time would be different have slipped away.

Ahmed Rasheed and Ahmed Aboulenein (REUTERS) report that Adel Abdul al-Mahdi was sworn in yesterday as Prime Minister despite not putting together a full Cabinet. That's the only thing you're supposed to do and you're supposed to do it for a reason.

Per the Iraqi Constitution, the president names a prime minister-designate. How do you move from prime minister-designate to prime minister? You have 30 days to name a Cabinet.

Why is that important? That is your test, your proof that you are up for the job. In 30 days, you are able to put together a Cabinet -- through wise choices, through horse trading, whatever. Putting together a Cabinet that you get Parliament approval indicates that you are up to the job and will be able to govern.

No one has followed the Constitution.

al-Mahdi gave the impression he was going to. But that ship sailed yesterday. Not only is he another Nouri and another Hayder in that he shows disdain for the law before being named prime minister, he's also them in that he's demonstrated he can't govern.

Gridlock? Four years of that will be most likely what takes place because he can't even work with the Parliament right now. Imagine six months from now, when both sides have hurled their public insults.

Not that public insults haven't already been hurled.

‏ @Of_Algeria

Iraq PM Adel Abdul Mahdi sworn in amid bickering over cabinet http://dlvr.it/QpSCNQ  http://bit.ly/1b9p15k 

Parliament's session was 'lively' with some decrying the nominees and/or their credentials.

‏Verified account @AaronMagid

"None of the [14] appointments were known to have come from the online application portal opened by Abdul-Mahdi to bring new faces into government. His office received over 15,000 applications in the span of less than a week, earlier this month."

5:12 AM - 25 Oct 2018

He did not nominate two women but Parliament refused to vote on those two.

‏ @Shiraz09883716

The new Prime Minister of Iraq Abdul Mahdi and his 14 ministers were sworn yesterday. We see No Woman for ministry.

#kurd #Kurdistn

UNAMI‏Verified account @UNIraq 34 minutes ago

Press Release: SRSG Ján Kubiš welcomes confirmation of #Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, urges early confirmation of the full Council of Ministers, and expresses concern at the lack of female representation among ministers

1 retweet2 likes
UNAMI‏Verified account @UNIraq 38 minutes ago

SRSG Ján Kubiš welcomes confirmation of #Iraq Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, urges early confirmation of the full Council of Ministers, and expresses concern at the lack of female representation among ministers https://www.facebook.com/UnitedNationsIraq/posts/2146554852043197 …

2 retweets4 likes

Let's give AP credit for these two passages:

Abdul-Mahdi will hold the portfolios of defense, justice, and others until parliament votes to approve his nominees. The lawmaking body is scheduled to reconvene on Nov. 6, though there is no constitutional deadline to confirm the appointments.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki went without ministers of defense or interior for the whole of his second term, from 2010 to 2014.

On the first paragraph, that is what will happen. On the second, that is what happened. But we stood alone in real time in pointing that out. The press repeatedly pretended otherwise. Someone Nouri puts in place, without the Parliament, is not the minister. (After we bitched and moaned forever, some outlets began using "acting minister.") Parliament approval is required to be a Cabinet member. To be removed as a Cabinet member? That goes through the Parliament as well. Bypassing the Parliament meant that Nouri let that person pretend as long as his decisions met with Nouri's approval. It was a puppet.

Now let's grasp just how bad a failure al-Mahdi currently is. ISIS was never defeated in Iraq. The press is pimping the lie that ISIS is back -- it never left. But whether you accept the reality that it never left or the current myth, ISIS remains a huge problem for Iraq. Minister of Defense? Kind of an important position right now. And he's unable to fill it? That does not speak well for al-Mahdi.

‏ @Mustafa_Habib33

Another two bombings in Qayara town south of #Mosul, #Fallujah town east of #Anbar, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Halboussi: "continuation of bombings
 in liberated cities recently needs new security plans"

Mustafa Habib @Mustafa_Habib33

Dangerous & worrying security developments in #Iraq in the last 48 hours. Serial bombings in #Baghdad, #Salahuddin & #Anbar with some attacks launched by #ISIS fighters 

Show this thread

1 reply9 retweets8 likes

Where's the Minister of Defense? To be appointed.

Let's do numbers. The Cabinet has 22 ministers. How many spots did al-Mahdi fill? 14.

This is a leader?

This is someone who can get things done?

‏ @Pshtiwanfarag

I am wondering what happened to Iraq’s PM-designate Adel Abdul-Mahdi's online portal application for those who run for Iraq's 22 Ministries? I am one of those who applied for one of those positions and see myself as qualified as anyone else...

1 reply2 retweets7 likes

He got a lot of attention for that, al-Mahdi did. Even though the application period had ended, several outlets were still doing pieces on it earlier this week. His announcement was treated as yet another indication that this was the one Iraq had been waiting for. Time and again, we're told this Iraqi (who fled Iraq for years and only returned after the US military invaded in 2003) will be the change agent. And they turn out to be exactly the same as the one that came before.

al-Mahdi's words are treated as reasons to rejoice and then when his actions fail to live up to his words, the media reduces it to a paragraph deep in the story.

It's amazing that the online applications qualified as headline news yet the failure to use those applications is not considered worthy of a headline.

But then re-selling the war requires that the media never tell the harsh truths. You can't keep a war going for 15 years and counting without the help of the media.

‏Verified account @RudawEnglish

Haider al-Abadi out, Adil Abdul-Mahdi officially in vowing a 'new phase' for #Iraq under his premiership 

1 reply7 retweets11 likes

He's vowing a "new phase"? Oh, goody, more words. He's been incapable of living up to his promises thus far in the last month but let's all pretend that's going to change. His first broken promise was that he wouldn't be meeting with foreign officials during his time as prime minister-designate.

The two last ones, from the 24th, are Hayder as prime minister. The ones from two hours ago are al-Mehdi.

At one minute, he insists that they've presented a detailed plan, later on (further up the thread) he's crowing that the Cabinet will meet for the first time today and decided on priorities. Didn't that detailed plan he spoke of earlier do just that?

Words, words, pretty and empty words.

And Iraq's facing real crisis -- that's plural. It's not just ISIS. There are many more. For example, this:

‏ @Mustafa_Habib33

OMG. While all eyes on formation of new #Iraqi govt, drought crisis hit the country strongly, according to Iraqi Agriculture Ministry,the country will lose 55% of agricultural land within the next 12 months. If this happened in another country will be declared state of emergency!