The New Iraqi Prime Minister
February 16th, 2005 | by Todd W |Shi’ite list picks al-Jaafari to be Iraq’s prime minister-FEB-2005/p>
The Shiites are lining up their rulers, and so far I’m impressed by a few things. For one, the dreaded Islamic Republic doesn’t look to be in the cards, as the various groups are talking about the necessary coalition building inherent in a parliamentary system.
Second, the language of this entire news article strikes me as an important indicator. Take a few minutes and read through it. Baring the unusual circumstances of the ‘insurgency’, the tone of the quoted parties are what you would expect if this was a piece about the British elections. There are no typical banana republic indicators of illegitimate coups or corrupt negotiations with discredited despot wannabes. Sure, it is early in the process, but go judge for yourself.
A first priority for any new government will be to establish a role for the Sunnis, who make up 20 percent of the population but won only six seats because of a boycott and security fears that kept turnout to single digits in some Sunni areas.
That process, seen as critical to undermining support for the insurgency, has begun, said SCIRI’s spokesman in Washington, Karim Khutar al-Musawi.
“We have talked to them, and they will join us in the government and in drafting the constitution. We also have had talks with the Association of Muslim Scholars and other Sunnis in order to come to an agreement with them,” Mr. al-Musawi said yesterday.
This is a Shiite talking about a group of Sunnis.
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