Get Your News Close to the Source

I have followed a number of Iraqi bloggers for some time now, and "Raed in the Middle" is, in my estimation, the best and the most consistent. I reprint the entire text from yesterday's blog.

"I didn't find a SINGLE news item in any of the mainstream media about what happened in Iraq two days ago.Not a single news item about it!

The Sunni Arabs Front, that includes both The National Front and The National Dialogue Council, announced their withdrawal from the Government, just few hours after Jaafari finished his "partial" announcement.

Jafari's partial announcement didn't declare 7 of the most important positions: oil minister, defense minister, electricity minister, industry minister, human rights minister, and two vice-prime-ministers. Other Sunni Iraqis, like the PM Mishaan Al-Juburi the head of The Reconciliation and Liberation party, asked the rest of the Sunni Arabs to withdraw from Jaafari's government.

The story behind the mass Sunni withdrawal from the government is that Sunni Arabs had a clear deal with Jaafari about announcing a national political agenda before announcing the government, including "very important" points like asking the occupation forces to schedule their withdrawal from Iraq.

Jaafari decided to announce the government with what seems to be a side agreement with Ghazi Al-Yawer alone.Sheikh Ghazi Mash'al Ujail Al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab with no party affiliation and the head of the Iraqiyun List, appears to be the last Sunni in the government now. Al-Yawer seems to be trying to fill the Sunni Arabs gap himself.

In his official statements Al-Yawer said that Sunni Arab leaders may pull out from the new government if they aren't given more cabinet seats, and then he called for quick completion of the formation of the new Iraqi government and to appoint two Arab Sunni ministers in the ministries of defense and human rights who remained unoccupied in the new formation. Elyawer expressed his hope that this will be made within the two coming days.

Clearly the Sunni Arab Iraqis now are not a part of Jaafari's government.I don't know whether this Sunni withdrawal would be just another nail in the coffin of the US project in Iraq, or a coup de grâce."