Nouri al-Maliki, a tough guy at last?
Iraq’s new prime minister Nouri al-Maliki shows signs of the toughness and leadership that previous Iraqi PM’s have not. He speaks bluntly, acts decisively, and knows how to press an advantage.
In recent months, rival militias have emerged in Basra (previously a relatively secure, peaceful city). Maliki flew down to Basra, declared security to be the first, second, and third priorities, vowed to crush the militias with an “iron fist,” and imposed a one-month state of emergency in Basra. I don’t recall al-Jaafari ever even threatening to get tough, with anyone.
Maliki plans to incorporate the militiamen into the country regular security forces. It won’t be easy.
When the news of Haditha broke, he bitterly criticized U.S. forces:
“This is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces,” the prime minister said. “No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It’s unacceptable.”
While that might make some Americans uncomfortable, it’s required of an independent (i.e. non-puppet) leader.
He announced the death of Zarqawi in plain, blunt terms: “Zarqawi is eliminated.” When the question of Zarqawi’s successor came up, Maliki declared, “Whenever there is a new al-Zarqawi, we will kill him.”
Maliki quickly banned cars from Baghdad for several hours. This will prevent any retaliatory car bombings and will give Coalition and Iraqi forces a chance to act on the “treasure trove” of information recovered as part of the Zarqawi operation.
He also took the occasion of Zarqawi’s death to name the long-delayed three important security ministers. Bickering about these appointments had dragged on for weeks, and parliamentary opposition to the three men named was expected. As John Burns reported in today’s NY Times:
But chance or not, the congruence of the two events appeared to help Mr. Maliki win speedy approval for his nominees from rival political blocs that seemed set on a filibuster only a few days ago. One of the nominees, Abdul Qader Mohammed Jassim, the new minister of defense, is a Sunni Arab and a former army general who was jailed for seven years in 1994 after voicing criticism of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
As recently as last Sunday, Mr. Jassim’s nomination appeared doomed by opposition within the dominant Shiite bloc to Mr. Jassim’s former membership in Mr. Hussein’s ruling Baath party. But that obstacle was lifted on Thursday, and the new mood of consensus carried over to an easy approval for the Shiite nominees for the interior and national security posts.
While the passing of Zarqawi has gained appropriate headlines, the emergence of Maliki may be a more substantive positive development.
More on Maliki here.
Bush in Iraq, sees Maliki
Could this be an exit strategy?
Dabbagh escapes from CENTCOM!
Another day in Iraq
Democracy with Honor