Iraqi List Party Refuses American Involvement in Forming Government, But al-Maliki’s List Welcomes It

Haidar al-Mala, spokesman for the Iraqi List Party, denied that the American delegation that visited Baghdad recently under the direction of Jeffrey Feltman, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department, had brought any “new ideas” on the issue of forming a new government in Iraq. At the same time, Khalid al-Asadi, member of the State of Law Coalition, affirmed that the American vision for the shape of the government rests upon “Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Jalal Talabani remaining in their positions for another term, and entrusting the leader of the Iraqi List Party, Ayad Allawi, with the chairmanship of the Political Council for National Security after widening its powers.”

This comes as a high source close to the negotiations between Allawi and al-Maliki that Washington is directing has revealed that “the State of Law Coalition agrees with 70 percent of the content of the American agenda relating to the formation of a new Political Council for National Security.”

The source revealed that the American proposal requires the powers of the Political Council for National Security to be binding on all ministries, no doubt with the view that they be binding on the Defense, Interior, and National Security Ministries.

The source said that the heated discussions that have been underway dealt with endowing any decisions that would originate in the new Council with a measure of “force.” This is the heart of the disagreement between Allawi and al-Maliki.

The source indicated that the Americans had always intended the president of the Iraqi List, Ayad Allawi, to take up the chairmanship of the Council in the event that he did not obtain the position of prime minister.

But the spokesman for the Iraqi List, Haidar al-Mala, said that Feltman came to Baghdad accompanied by a team of U.S. diplomats currently assuming positions at the U.S. Embassy. He added that this new team explored viewpoints from different regions and parties in Iraq, but that it did not offer specific ideas about what form the new Iraqi government should take.

Al-Mala added that this new team came to Baghdad after the failed attempts of previous American teams to convince Iraqi parties of the necessity of allowing al-Maliki to remain prime minister and of keeping the Sadrists from any participation in the government. He clarified his remark, saying that the old team’s approach rested upon the fact that al-Maliki spent four years in office and thus earned experience in dealing with Iraqi issues. Because of this, the Americans assume that it is appropriate for him to remain in his position for another term. Al-Mala affirmed that the Iraqi List Party announced its refusal of this idea in no uncertain terms.

Al-Mala put the responsibility for the paralysis of political life in Iraq squarely on the “national coalition,” which includes al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition and al-Jaafari’s National Iraqi Alliance. He said that this “coalition” had not endorsed a candidate for prime minister, yet at the same time it refuses to accept the candidate of the Iraqi List Party despite the fact that the Iraqi List won a plurality of votes. He paraphrased an Iraqi proverb, saying that the “coalition” is made up of “such people as do not show mercy to others, nor allow God‘s mercy to descend to others.” Al-Mala indicated that the “coalition” has not undertaken any step to form a government that would include the Iraqi List.

Al-Mala rejects the description of the List as a Sunni bloc, emphasizing that “the Iraqi List Party is secular and represents every Iraqi region and faction.” He asks: “How can they say that the Iraqi List is a Sunni alliance when it includes 30 Shiite delegates out of the 91 total delegates representing it in Parliament?”

For his part, Khalid al-Asadi, a member of the State of Law Coalition, revealed that the American idea for forming an Iraqi government is to freeze the pyramid of political authority the way it has stood throughout the past four years. At the same time, he says, the Americans advocate expanding the powers of the Political Council for National Security and entrusting its chairmanship to Allawi.

Al-Asadi said that Feltman’s visit to Iraq comes in the wake of successive visits from U.S. State Department envoys to Iraq for the sake of evaluating the progress of political power brokers in forming the next government. At the same time, al-Asadi points out, “discussions between political blocs are witnessing significant developments, and we hope a government will be formed soon.”

Al-Asadi points to the existence of fundamental understandings between the State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi List on the one hand, and the State of Law Coalition and the Kurdistan Alliance (also known as the Kurdistan List or the Brotherhood List) on the other. Furthermore, al-Asadi highlighted efforts to advance discussions with al-Jaafari’s National Iraqi Alliance, emphasizing that “all tracks are moving in the direction of forming the next government.”

Al-Asadi clarified that the “American vision for the formation of the new Iraqi government rests on the basis of things remaining more or less as they are. This would mean retaining al-Maliki as prime minister and Jalal Talabani as president, with the further goal of giving the Iraqi List additional privileges. No doubt that some influence on the Political Council for National Security would be among these new privileges.”

He followed this up by saying that “the efforts toward forming a government are directed towards all parties and regions, in a way that is far from marginalizing or driving away any party or group.”

For his part, the guide of the Iraqi List, Adnan al-Danbous, affirmed that the leader of the Iraqi List, Ayad Allawi, met on Aug. 14 with Feltman, who made an effort throughout his entire visit to Iraq to reconcile the points of view of the various political factions, especially between the Iraqi List and the State of Law Coalition.

Danbous also said that this visit will not fare better than previous visits by the Americans, expressing his belief that the different political blocs are still holding fast to the highest threshold of their demands.

As to the chance of a resolution to the crisis surrounding the formation of a new government, Danbous said that there might be a way forward if al-Maliki withdraws his candidacy for the position of prime minister, adding: “As we are in accordance with the attitudes of the parties refusing the candidacy of al-Maliki, we believe that there is no option for the State of Law Coalition but to yield to the will of the nation.”