{"id":217414,"date":"2020-04-29T16:10:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T15:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=217414"},"modified":"2023-01-23T18:01:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T17:01:14","slug":"iraqs-prime-ministerial-merry-go-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/blog\/iraqs-prime-ministerial-merry-go-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Iraq\u2019s Prime Ministerial Merry-Go-Round"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Anti
Anti government protests in Iraq. 2019-2020 – file photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By: Struan Stevenson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s prime ministerial merry<\/span>–<\/span>go<\/span>–<\/span>round continues\u00a0<\/span>to spin<\/span>\u00a0apace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Spy chief\u00a0<\/span>Mustafa al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>, director of\u00a0<\/span>the country\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>National Intelligence Service,\u00a0<\/span>is now the third prime minister designate<\/span>\u00a0this year<\/span>, following\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>withdrawal of\u00a0<\/span>Adnan al-<\/span>Zurfi<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>the previous prospective candidate, after he\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0failed to secure enough support to\u00a0<\/span>form a government. Adnan al-<\/span>Zurfi<\/span>\u00a0had\u00a0<\/span>tried to step into the shoes of\u00a0<\/span>Mohammed\u00a0<\/span>Tawfiq<\/span>\u00a0Allawi<\/span>, who suffered a similar fate, leaving Iraq under the tremulous caretaker control of\u00a0<\/span>Adil Abdul-Mahdi,\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>crooked\u00a0<\/span>former prime minister\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>puppet of the Iranian mullahs,\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span>was forced to resign last November<\/span>\u00a0amidst widespread protests<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under the Iraqi constitution, a prime minister designate has thirty days to secure the backing of parliament for his new government. This has been the stumbling block for each of Abdul-Mahdi\u2019s chosen successors so far, as they have attempted to gain the approval of the wide range of\u00a0<\/span>deeply divided and sectarian\u00a0<\/span>factions\u00a0<\/span>that make up\u00a0<\/span>Iraq\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Majilis<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The biggest problem for each of the prospective prime ministers has, however, been obtaining<\/span>\u00a0the blessing of the Iranian regime, who now regard Iraq as a s<\/span>ervile\u00a0<\/span>province.<\/span>\u00a0Al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>\u00a0is expected\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u202f<\/span>present his\u00a0<\/span>nominees for the\u00a0<\/span>cabinet<\/span><\/a>\u202f<\/span>to the\u00a0<\/span>Iraqi\u00a0<\/span>Council of Representatives\u00a0<\/span>shortly<\/span>.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He appears to have won the backing of all of the main Shi\u2019ite parties, as well as the key Kurdish and Sunni factions. Crucially, he also seems to have been given the green light by<\/span>\u00a0the Iranian mullahs, despite objections from Kataib Hezbollah, one of the Popular Mobilization Units\u2019 (PMU<\/span>\u2019s<\/span>) more dangerous Iranian-backed terrorist militias, who accused\u00a0<\/span>al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>\u00a0of having been involved in the US assassination of General\u00a0<\/a><\/span>Qasem<\/span>\u00a0Soleimani and the PMU\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-<\/span>Muhandis<\/span>. Kataib Hezbollah\u2019s accusations have, however, fallen on stony ground and do not appear to have caused any ripple of dissent in Tehran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s President Barham\u00a0<\/span>Salih<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hosted a special televised designation ceremony for\u00a0<\/span>al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>, attended by most of the country\u2019s top political figures, as a show of solidarity for the 53-year-old spy chief. None of the previous designated contenders for the post had been honoured with a similar ceremony. Prominent at the event was Iranian\u00a0<\/span>General\u00a0<\/span>Esmail<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Qaani<\/span>, who has now taken over the role of head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force<\/a>, following the assassination of his predecessor\u00a0<\/span>Qasem<\/span>\u00a0Soleimani\u00a0<\/span>in\u00a0<\/span>a US drone\u00a0<\/span>strike\u00a0<\/span>at\u00a0<\/span>Baghdad\u00a0<\/span>Airport\u00a0<\/span>in January.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the coronavirus has driven most of the protesters\u00a0<\/span>out of their encampment in Baghdad\u2019s Tahrir Square and\u00a0<\/span>off the streets<\/span>\u00a0of Iraq\u2019s towns and cities<\/span>, their demand for a government of\u00a0<\/span>independent\u00a0<\/span>technocrats to replace the venally corrupt\u00a0<\/span>political elite<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0is still bubbling under the surface.\u00a0<\/span>Demonstrators in t<\/span>he nationwide uprising in Iraq last October and November blamed government incompetence and corruption and the ruling elite\u2019s slavish subservience to the fascist Iranian regime, for the country\u2019s collapsing economy and security breakdown.\u00a0<\/span>But such is the extent of the\u00a0<\/span>institutionalized corruption and Iranian meddling in Iraq\u2019s internal affairs, that\u00a0<\/span>al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>, like his predecessors, will find it difficult to appoint a cabinet that meets the demands of the protesters and the approval of the political factions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, his chances of survival appear to have improved following statements supporting his appointment from the US, the United Arab Emirates<\/span>\u00a0and the UN in Iraq. Indeed,\u00a0<\/span>al-<\/span>Kadh<\/span>i<\/span>mi<\/span>\u00a0has said that his government will seek to cooperate with the US in the forthcoming \u2018strategic dialogue\u2019 between the two countries due to be held in June, where discussion will focus on a continuing American military presence in Iraq<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0to lead the on-going fight against the Islamic State<\/span>\u00a0(ISIS).<\/span>\u00a0Al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>\u00a0has also suggested calling early \u201cfree and fair\u201d elections in Iraq to gain approval for his choice of government, although free and fair elections would be something of a novelty in a country where the polling stations are\u00a0<\/span>guarded<\/span>\u00a0by militias, armed and\u00a0<\/span>financed<\/span>\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span>Tehran<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Al-<\/span>Kadhimi<\/span>\u00a0was born in Baghdad, but grew up in the southern governate of\u00a0<\/span>Dhi<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Qar<\/span>, a hotbed of anti-government\u00a0<\/span>dissent<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>As a lawyer and journalist\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who opposed Saddam Hussein, he\u00a0<\/span>fled from Iraq in 1985\u00a0<\/span>and continued to pen articles attacking the Iraqi dictator from his exile first in Iran<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>then in<\/span>\u00a0Germany and<\/span>\u00a0the UK. He returned to Iraq after the US invasion in 2003 and was appointed as head of the National Intelligence Service in 2016. As prime minister, assuming he wins the approval of the deeply divided and sectarian\u00a0<\/span>Majilis<\/span>, he faces a daunting task. After years of mismanagement and corruption, Iraq is a basket case. Its economy has been destroyed and its security devolved to pro-Iranian warlords. The collapse in oil-prices, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic have crippled the nation.<\/span>\u00a0Al-<\/span>Khadimi\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0two pressing priorities will be to tackle corruption and to identify and hold to account those responsible for shooting dead hundreds of mostly young, unarmed protesters during the uprising. Unfortunately, the guilty parties in both cases are the very people he looks to for support as prime minister, so he is faced with an impossible task.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taking over the helm of a failed state, ravaged by Covid-19, drained of resources by decades of venal corruption and ruled by corrupt\u00a0<\/span>Shi\u2019ia<\/span>\u00a0warlords, is not an enviable prospect. As the compromise candidate, seen as bridging the divide between Iran and America, al-<\/span>Kadh<\/span>i<\/span>mi<\/span>\u00a0has already lost the support of the protesters and seems set to resort to the\u00a0<\/span>same\u00a0<\/span>tired, old strategy of sectarian conflict and disunion.\u00a0<\/span>The moment the lockdown\u00a0<\/span>ends, the protesters have made clear that they will take to the streets again in their tens of thousands, to rid Iraq of the Iranian regime\u2019s gangsters and to restore a legitimate and accountable government in Baghdad. With another similar rebellion ready to explode in Iran, the turbaned tyrants in Tehran may be facing their closing chapter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Struan-Stevenson-2\"\u00a0Struan Stevenson is the Coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change (<\/span><\/i>CiC<\/span><\/i>). He was a member of the European Parliament representing Scotland (1999-2014), president of the Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq (2009-14) and chairman of the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup (2004-14). He is an international lecturer on the Middle East and president of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA)<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Struan Stevenson Iraq’s prime ministerial merry–go–round continues to spin apace. Spy chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi, director of the country’s National Intelligence Service, is now the third prime minister designate this year, following the withdrawal of Adnan al-Zurfi, the previous prospective candidate, after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":217443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,188],"tags":[192],"class_list":{"0":"post-217414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog","8":"category-op-ed","9":"tag-struan-stevenson"},"yoast_head":"\nIraq\u2019s Prime Ministerial Merry-Go-Round - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By: Struan Stevenson Iraq\u2019s prime ministerial merry-go-round continues\u00a0to spin\u00a0apace.\u00a0Spy chief\u00a0Mustafa al-Kadhimi, director of\u00a0the country\u2019s\u00a0National\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/blog\/iraqs-prime-ministerial-merry-go-round\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iraq\u2019s Prime Ministerial Merry-Go-Round - 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