11 August 2006 Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has so far failed to impose his authority over the city council of Basrah while calls for the establishment of an autonomous federation of the south are increasing. Basrah — the capital of the southern oil province and currently home to all of Iraq’s oil exports — has been wrought by a power struggle among Shiite factions over the past year,…
Tag: Sadr
Iraqi Parliament Sets Ball Rolling for Autonomous South Region
12 October 2006 The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial law which sets out the procedures for the country’s 18 provinces to hold referendums to merge themselves into larger federal regions with a measure of self government. Although the powers of the autonomous regions would include signing their own oil deals with international oil companies, they would have to wait until 2008 when the new law goes into effect….
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…
Chalabi Named Acting Oil Minister in Iraq
29 April 2005 Three months after Iraqis voted in national elections, the first Shiite-led government in Iraq’s modern history has won the support of the elected National Assembly. However, protracted negotiations among political factions and differences within the biggest Shiite bloc mean that the positions of two deputy premiers and five ministers, including the oil portfolio, have yet to be filled. In a sign of the difficult horse-trading since the…