Biden in Baghdad, Allawi Allied with Maliki?

06 July 2010 | 00:08 Code : 7966 Middle East.
By Ali Musavi Khalkhali.
Biden in Baghdad, Allawi Allied with Maliki?
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq two days ago. Not a ‘surprise visit’ as some media claimed, but exactly the opposite, planned; like the visit he made in January, a few weeks before the national parliamentary election. Knowing that prominent U.S. senators John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsay Graham had landed in Iraq the night before, the visit could be labeled anything but surprising.

Sources close to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad had claimed a few days ago that Biden would decide on the trip after being assured of the chances for an alliance between the incumbent Prime Minister Nuri Maliki’s Rule of Law bloc and the victorious list of Ayad Allawi, al-Iraqiyah. It is not yet clear what has transpired inside the byzantine political structure of Iraq and whether Maliki and Allawi have agreed on forming a composite government. But the signs tell us that Biden is in Baghdad to seal the deal.

Maliki and Allawi had met in Allawi’s residence last week. Unverified reports by al-Iraqiyah politicians claim that in return for his retaining the premiership, Maliki has generously offered Allawi presidency and command of the armed forces plus speakership of the parliament and key positions in the cabinet such as the ministry of foreign affairs and security for his team. Looking at the attractive offer, one won’t possibly be accused of pessimism to deem the news as an effort by al-Iraqiyah to tilt the balance in its own favor and to extract more from Maliki.

Meanwhile, coincidental (?) with Biden’s visit to Iraq, al-Iraqiyah has announced its beginning of a new round of talks with Maliki’s Rule of Law bloc in order to form the next Iraqi cabinet. Such developments indicate new steps by both sides to break the present impasse and form a joint team for governing the country.

In the final days of his mission, the U.S. Ambassador to Baghdad, Christopher Hill, has informed the high-ranking officials of Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) that Washington prefers a Maliki-Allawi alliance and will do its best to achieve this objective. Bad news for National Alliance indeed. With a likely Maliki-Allawi alliance, Muqtada Sadr, Ammar Hakim and even Kurds –all having warm relations with Iran- will be the parties suffering the most. In fact, many political observers believe that Washington’s plans aimed to detach Maliki from the National Alliance and push him closer to al-Iraqiyah are another phase of the U.S. plans for confrontation with Iran, a speculation supported by many Arab media such as Aljazeera.