What Does Al-Maliki Want from the American Administration?

There is no doubt that the American administration wants Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to keep the position he is currently holding although it is apprehensive about his policies with Iran and some political situations in the region such as that in Syria. Al-Maliki is the ideal man for the West because his dynamism qualifies him to deal with an issue that the American administration failed to solve; the Iranian agenda in Iraq in particular, and in the whole region in general. Al-Maliki and his party are best qualified to play this role because they hold the key tools in the game of Western interests, particularly those of America. His pragmatic personality makes him the best person to play this role. We all remember what al-Maliki did with the radical Shiite forces (the Sadrist Movement) in the political arena and other various exaggerations and obstacles against the interests and recalcitrance embodied by its leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Although al-Maliki’s government did not present it this way at that time, the blow was harmful for the Sadrist Movement; it was also successful after the movement lost some of its political reputation due to the nullity of its claim to defend the interests of Iraqis when it started interfering in people’s privacy and presenting its party as a representative and a guide for Iraqi people. This appeared more particularly when Iraqis asked for help from al-Maliki in Basra and some other cities; Mr. al-Maliki took advantage of the political misstep of the Sadrist Movement and decided to militarily strike the movement at the suitable time after it was blessed by the U.S. That is how al-Maliki got all the votes that the Sadrist Movement could have gathered and succeeded in his grassroots campaign thanks to an excellent pragmatic game. He became respected by most average Iraqi people but also by the American administration that lost control in Iraq at that moment and needed someone to hold its hand and help it out of that jam.

The elections that occurred two years earlier were still fresh when the Sadrist Movement started preparing for revenge against Prime Minister al-Maliki after he almost lost to former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi’s ticket. Yesterday’s enemy (the Sadrist Movement) is the one who has saved him from the defeat; with the blessing of the U.S. and Iran, al-Maliki managed to win and to keep the position that he would otherwise have lost forever, thanks to his union with the Sadrists. The American administration knew about the scheme but its main concern was to see Mr. al-Maliki win despite its apprehension as mentioned. But the strategic interests of the American administration are above the tactical ones (withdrawing from Iraq without obtaining noticeable gains) or leaving without getting permission from the Iraqi government to keep some of their military bases nor obtaining judiciary immunity for its soldiers who will remain in Iraq as trainers. But the administration controls the rules of the game and more importantly al-Maliki’s love for his position after with all the power he gets from it, first in Iraq and then on a regional and worldwide level. Al-Maliki is from the village of Janaja; like all Iraqi people coming from villages who behave like him, they can sacrifice everything except the power. This side of al-Maliki’s personality was discovered by George W. Bush’s administration before the Iraqi people themselves got to know him. In one of the festivals he organized to promote his position, one of the villagers said, “we don’t want you to give up your position,” so he answered saying, “I’ll give it up to whom is able to take it.” Therefore, al-Maliki’s love for the Prime Minister’s office and the need of the American administration to maintain its interests are the real reasons for his visit to the U.S. and not the interests of the Iraqi people as the media of al-Maliki’s party wants to portray it.