Nouri al-Maliki

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Maliki's Allies Win Big in Provincial Vote

Maliki's party wins 38% of Baghdad vote, 37% in Basra

(Newser) - Allies of Iraq's prime minister finished first in races for ruling councils in Baghdad and eight other provinces, official results from last weekend's election show. Nouri al-Maliki's party won 38% of the vote in Baghdad, the election commission said. His party was followed by allies of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr...

Iraqis Vote for Secular Parties

Iraq PM claiming victory in provincial poll

(Newser) - Iraq's Dawa Party and other secular political parties appear to have scored significant victories in Iraq's provincial elections, strengthening the hand of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Detailed election results are still several days off, but religious parties appear to have been defeated in the principal cities of Bahgdad and Basra,...

Iraqis Wrap Up Voting Amid Relative Calm

That this is worth reporting is deeply sad and also deeply funny

(Newser) - Iraq’s first provincial election went off more or less smoothly today. Though three mortar shells landed near one polling place, no one was injured or killed, Reuters reports, and polls closed without any other major incidents. Turnout appeared strong, even in places like Anbar province, a Sunni-dominated area that...

Polls Open in Watershed Iraqi Election

Thousands vie for seats in biggest vote since fall of Saddam

(Newser) - The polls are already open for this weekend's provincial elections in Iraq, the nation's first since it became a fully sovereign nation after the fall of Saddam. The Sunni minority is participating, reports the Christian Science Monitor, and Iraqis can vote for more than 14,000 candidates vying for 440...

Raising Saddam's Specter, Maliki Aims to Solidify Power

Maliki looks to increase party's power even as some see Saddam-like authority grabs

(Newser) - Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is looking to extend his reach with party gains on the provincial level in elections Saturday, the New York Times reports. But despite his assurances that “the iron centralization has ended,” many Iraqis fear a return to rule by a single leader with power...

This Time, Iraq Gets Politics With Its Elections

Stability gives candidates chance to compete more in Western democratic style

(Newser) - If Iraq’s tumultuous 2005 elections were a trial run at democracy, the current provincial race has main-event flavor, the Washington Post reports. Greater stability has allowed town-hall gatherings, where voters grill some 14,000 candidates running for 440 seats on everything from housing to militarization. And campaign posters, T-shirts...

Former Iraqi PM: Bush an 'Utter Failure'

Allawi had been appointed by US after Saddam's fall

(Newser) - The Iraqi prime minister installed by Washington after the fall of Saddam Hussein has blasted President Bush’s policies as an “utter failure,” Reuters reports. In an interview with an Arab newspaper, Iyad Allawi said Bush’s “insistence on names like ‘democracy’ and ‘open elections,...

Shoe-Thrower Tortured Into Writing Apology

Zaidi 'would do it again,' will sue Iraqi police for abuse, brother says

(Newser) - Muntadar al-Zaidi, now famous for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush during a press conference in Iraq, was tortured into writing a letter of apology to the American president, his brother told the Guardian today. Zaidi has allegedly suffered cigarette burns to his ears, is missing a tooth, and...

Iraqi Judge: Shoe-Tosser Was Beaten
Iraqi Judge: Shoe-Tosser Was Beaten

Iraqi Judge: Shoe-Tosser Was Beaten

He opens probe, says case against journalist could be dropped

(Newser) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush was beaten afterward and had bruises on his face and around his eyes, a judge said today. Judge Dhia al-Kinani, the magistrate investigating the incident, said the court has opened an investigation into the treatment of Muntadhar al-Zaidi. "We...

Shoe-Tosser to Maliki: Pardon Me

Journalist appeals to Iraqi PM's 'fatherly feelings'

(Newser) - The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush is appealing to PM Nouri al-Maliki for a pardon, the Guardian reports. Calling on Maliki's "fatherly feelings," Muntadar al-Zaidi expressed remorse, saying the "big ugly act cannot be excused," Maliki's office said. He also reminded the...

Iraq Officials Busted in Coup Plot

Generals, old regime members arrested in Ministry of Interior sweep

(Newser) - Iraq has arrested up to 35 Ministry of the Interior officials over the last three days for their part in a plot to revive Saddam Hussein's Baath party, the New York Times reports. Some being held were in the early stages of planning a coup, say officials. Four generals were...

Bush Makes Surprise Farewell Stop in Baghdad

Will meet leaders, thank troops in mission's 'endgame'

(Newser) - President Bush has arrived in Baghdad on a surprise farewell trip, the BBC reports. A day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the US mission in Iraq is in its “endgame,” Bush met with President Jalal Talabani; he’ll meet with other "leaders, thank the troops, and...

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum
 Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum 

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum

Infrastructure remains sub-standard in much of Iraq

(Newser) - Residents of the Sadr City slum of Baghdad have come to accept raw sewage, bubbling to the surface from broken pipes, as a part of daily life, Bloomberg reports. And Sadr City is hardly an oddity—despite 6 years and billions of American dollars, much of Iraq still lacks reliable...

Maliki's Power Grabs Stir Fears of 'Shiite Saddam'

US security deal may strengthen central government; some see 'benevolent Shiite Saddam'

(Newser) - Ratification this week of a deal that would put an expiration date on the US deployment in Iraq stands to boost the prestige of PM Nouri al-Maliki, who in recent months has consolidated his power in moves that echo previous authoritarian regimes. As one Western observer tells the Los Angeles ...

Iraq Firing Corruption Watchdogs

Up to 17 officials dismissed as cost of fraud hits $13B

(Newser) - After the invasion of Iraq, the American transitional administration installed dozens of anticorruption officials to bring order to the nation's bureaucracy. But in recent months the Iraqi government has systematically fired these inspectors without making any public announcement, reports the New York Times. Only recently a senior Iraqi official testified...

Maliki, US Reach Deal on Troops
Maliki, US
Reach Deal
on Troops

Maliki, US Reach Deal on Troops

Breakthrough sets stage for vote to have Americans out in 2011

(Newser) - Nouri al-Maliki has thrown his support behind the latest version of a proposed US-Iraqi security pact and will urge his Cabinet members to do the same, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Iraqi prime minister’s support represents a huge step in the contentious negotiations to replace an expiring UN...

US, Iraq Close to 2011 Pullout Pact

Deal would also allow Iraq prosecutions of US soldiers who commit rape, murder

(Newser) - The US and Iraq are close to clinching a new security agreement which would include a targeted 2011 date for troop withdrawal—and a provision to allow US troops to be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. The US military has enjoyed blanket immunity from criminal prosecution, but under the new agreement...

Maliki Is US Pawn No Longer
 Maliki Is US Pawn No Longer 

Maliki Is US Pawn No Longer

Iraqi drifts away from US—and toward Iran

(Newser) - With just four months left on America’s UN mandate to police Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki is playing hardball. Once seen as an embattled US puppet, the Iraqi PM has consolidated his power, and is turning visibly away from his former backers in Washington, the Los Angeles Times reports. He’s...

Petraeus Hands Over Command of Iraq
Petraeus Hands Over Command of Iraq

Petraeus Hands Over Command of Iraq

Praises successor Odierno as 'perfect man for the job'

(Newser) - Citing a "long struggle" in Iraq despite his successes, Gen. David Petraeus handed over his command of the country, reports the BBC, amid a smattering of violence that served as a reminder of reversible gains. Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised security gains made on Petraeus' watch as authority was...

US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'
 US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'

US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'

Woodward book reveals finds 'detached' Bush 'often failed to lead' on Iraq

(Newser) - The Bush administration conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders even while seeking to win their trust, according to a new book from the Washington Post's Bob Woodward. The book portrays an administration hamstrung by indecision as its Iraq strategy fell apart in...

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