18 July 2008 Feeling buoyant about beating back Al-Qaeda in Iraq and reining in Iraqi militias in southern Iraq and Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is now taking the initiative on the economic and diplomatic fronts. He wants to spur the much-delayed reconstruction efforts, including those in the oil sector, by moving the decision-making process from bureaucratic ministries to a new council with powers to award contracts. He also…
Tag: Al-Qaeda
Make or Break Time
23 June 2006 One month after choosing a cabinet and pledging to transform Iraq into a country ruled by law under a national unity government, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki finds himself bogged down by the same problems that paralyzed an array of politicians before him. Observers, both in and outside Iraq, look on bewildered as the same sectarian divisions that delayed the government’s formation for six months after the…