Attacks continue after new Iraqi PM appointed

BAGHDAD – Rocket attacks, blasts and the discovery of several bodies, apparently executed, around Iraq yesterday underscored the challenges facing the prime minister-designate as he tries to form a government.

A rocket attack on a Baghdad parking lot killed at least seven people, the Ministry of Defence said. Earlier, officials had described that as a mortar attack near the ministry, in the fortified Green Zone where Shi’ite leader Jawad al-Maliki was asked in parliament on Saturday to form the country’s first full-term postwar government.A roadside bomb killed three US soldiers northwest of Baghdad and the bodies of sixth youths, with bullet wounds to the head, were found in a Sunni area of the capital.Maliki has a month to form a cabinet sharing power among Shi’ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds and his choices for key posts, such as interior minister, are seen as critical to uniting Iraqis, winning their trust and ending sectarian bloodshed.But on the streets, Iraqis say choosing a prime minister and government is just the first step on a long road to peace and the reaction to the elevation of Maliki, a Shi’ite, appeared often split along sectarian lines.”Overcoming this impasse of forming the government doesn’t mean solving all the political crises in Iraq,” said Saleem al-Jubouri, a professor at Baquba’s Diyala University.”Maliki has tough issues to deal with – occupation, regional intervention, armed militias and illegal detention centres.”US President George W.Bush described the choice of Maliki, which broke a four-month deadlock over forming a government of national unity, as an historic moment.Washington’s ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the breakthrough will lead over time to an improvement in Iraq’s ability to ensure its own security, allowing a reduction in US troop numbers, now about 130 000.But in the Kurdish north, 25-year-old Samir Abdall’s response was typical: “I don’t know Jawad al-Maliki.Time will prove who he is, whether he is efficient or not.All politicians when they occupy government posts say a lot, but achieve nothing.”Photographer Abdel Hafidh in religiously mixed Baquba, which has seen many sectarian attacks involving Sunnis and Shi’ites, echoed the fears of some who fear Maliki as a hardline Shi’ite.”He is not good.He is a hateful sectarian who has made venomous comments against Iraq and Arabs,” he said.”Jawad al-Maliki is the final nail in Iraq’s coffin.”Predictably, he drew support in Shi’ite areas.The formation of a government of national unity bringing together the main religious and ethic groups is widely seen as essential for heading off a civil war after spiralling sectarian violence since a Shi’ite shrine was bombed in February.The United States, which pushed strongly for politicians to end their bickering, is now urging Maliki to make sure his ministers are competent, unifying and strong.”We want him to form as quickly as possible a good, strong cabinet,” Khalilzad told reporters in the Kurdish north.Maliki’s choice of cabinet, and his own post, must be confirmed by the 275-seat parliament.A proven behind-the-scenes player who has helped shape postwar politics, he must also rescue the oil-rich economy, which has been starved of foreign investment by the unrest.The leading Shi’ite Alliance chose Maliki – an official in the oldest Islamist party al Dawa – after its original choice, interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, bowed out under pressure from Sunni and Kurdish parties.A particular test will be his choice of interior minister, after Sunni leaders accused the Shi’ite-run ministry of condoning death squads targeting Sunnis, a charge it denies.Another will be the choice of oil minister, who will play a key role in sharing out the benefits of the massive reserves.- Nampa-ReutersEarlier, officials had described that as a mortar attack near the ministry, in the fortified Green Zone where Shi’ite leader Jawad al-Maliki was asked in parliament on Saturday to form the country’s first full-term postwar government.A roadside bomb killed three US soldiers northwest of Baghdad and the bodies of sixth youths, with bullet wounds to the head, were found in a Sunni area of the capital.Maliki has a month to form a cabinet sharing power among Shi’ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds and his choices for key posts, such as interior minister, are seen as critical to uniting Iraqis, winning their trust and ending sectarian bloodshed.But on the streets, Iraqis say choosing a prime minister and government is just the first step on a long road to peace and the reaction to the elevation of Maliki, a Shi’ite, appeared often split along sectarian lines.”Overcoming this impasse of forming the government doesn’t mean solving all the political crises in Iraq,” said Saleem al-Jubouri, a professor at Baquba’s Diyala University.”Maliki has tough issues to deal with – occupation, regional intervention, armed militias and illegal detention centres.”US President George W.Bush described the choice of Maliki, which broke a four-month deadlock over forming a government of national unity, as an historic moment.Washington’s ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, says the breakthrough will lead over time to an improvement in Iraq’s ability to ensure its own security, allowing a reduction in US troop numbers, now about 130 000.But in the Kurdish north, 25-year-old Samir Abdall’s response was typical: “I don’t know Jawad al-Maliki.Time will prove who he is, whether he is efficient or not.All politicians when they occupy government posts say a lot, but achieve nothing.”Photographer Abdel Hafidh in religiously mixed Baquba, which has seen many sectarian attacks involving Sunnis and Shi’ites, echoed the fears of some who fear Maliki as a hardline Shi’ite.”He is not good.He is a hateful sectarian who has made venomous comments against Iraq and Arabs,” he said.”Jawad al-Maliki is the final nail in Iraq’s coffin.”Predictably, he drew support in Shi’ite areas.The formation of a government of national unity bringing together the main religious and ethic groups is widely seen as essential for heading off a civil war after spiralling sectarian violence since a Shi’ite shrine was bombed in February.The United States, which pushed strongly for politicians to end their bickering, is now urging Maliki to make sure his ministers are competent, unifying and strong.”We want him to form as quickly as possible a good, strong cabinet,” Khalilzad told reporters in the Kurdish north.Maliki’s choice of cabinet, and his own post, must be confirmed by the 275-seat parliament.A proven behind-the-scenes player who has helped shape postwar politics, he must also rescue the oil-rich economy, which has been starved of foreign investment by the unrest.The leading Shi’ite Alliance chose Maliki – an official in the oldest Islamist party al Dawa – after its original choice, interim Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, bowed out under pressure from Sunni and Kurdish parties.A particular test will be his choice of interior minister, after Sunni leaders accused the Shi’ite-run ministry of condoning death squads targeting Sunnis, a charge it denies.Another will be the choice of oil minister, who will play a key role in sharing out the benefits of the massive reserves.- Nampa-Reuters