Iraq has dodged a bullet with the resignation of Prime Minster Maliki. -LA Times

Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki announces he will step down. LA Times/Al Iraqiya

Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki has announced that he will not seek a 4th term. -LA Times. This comes as a great relief since it was feared that political chaos would erupt if Maliki did not step down. The new nominee, Shiite Muslim Haider Abadi faces extreme challenges between ISIS and sectarian divisions. Abadi claims that he will work with Sunni Muslims and the Kurds in the north, but has not yet offered any concrete plans.  U.S. and other regional powers hail the decision as a step in the right direction. 

My Comment:

Probably the first good news I have heard out of Iraq in quite some time. Maliki had to go and trying to hold on to power would have been a disaster for Iraq. Not only would it push the Kurds and Sunni Muslims further away from the government, it could have resulted in a second civil war. Is Abadi going to be any different? He's saying all the right things but it is way too early to tell. I do not envy his task though... He is going to have a hell of a time convincing people that he's not the next Maliki. Forming a new government is hard under normal circumstances but trying to do so while you have a horde of fundamentalists fanatics carving up your country? Good luck. And I mean it, I want him to succeed. 

Obama is now selling arms directly to the Kurds. Yahoo/AP

Kurdish and American flags fly in front of Yazidi refugees. Yahoo/AP

Obama has reversed previous policy and has begun selling weapons directly to the Kurds in northern Iraq. Yahoo/AP. Previously the administration would only sell to the Iraqi government directly, who would then send some of those arms to the Kurds. However, the recent surge of ISIS victories against the previously untouched Kurdish Peshmerga fighters has changed the administrations mind. ISIS had captured many U.S. heavy weapons systems in their summer offensive and these new weapons should help the Kurds fight back. Peshmerga fighters have already taken back two towns from ISIS due to help from American airstrikes. The move comes as Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki's government faces internal strife and a possible coup as the new President, Fouad Massoum, calls for his resignation. 

My Comment:

I first talked about this as a possibility here. I think it's clear that two out of the three original objections are off the table. Turkey and the Iraq government are way more scared off ISIS then they are of an independent Kurdistan. I still worry about these weapons falling into the hands of ISIS, but if we have to sell weapons to anyone in Iraq it probably should be the Peshmerga. They are the best fighting force in the country right now. I heard another article say that they have the bravery to fight but not the bullets. This should change things for them. 

As for Maliki, I predicted this would happen. His political career is already over, he just doesn't realize it. I've been hearing rumors that he has stationed troops in Bagdhad to protect himself. If he does want to go down fighting it would be the worst possible thing to do for himself, Iraq, and the world in general. The last thing Iraq needs is a second civil war while the first one is going on. The incompetence here is just amazing. When your country is burning because a horde of fundamentalist lunatics are killing everyone they see you don't argue about politics. You put that aside and weather the storm. Too bad nobody told Maliki this...  

Nuri al-Maliki no longer has support from Iran, the U.S. or his own people. -Reuters.

The embattled Prime Minster. -Reuters

Nuri al-Maliki faces political opposition from all fronts. -Reuters His own party believes that his removal is necessary to form a government. Washington is widely believed to be very disappointed in Maliki after the stunning success of ISIS this year. Even Iran has publicly stated that they won't support Maliki if the people of Iraq do not. 

In another report, Reuters states that the top cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said that leaders should not cling to there posts.  Sistani said that politicians, again coyly referring to Malki, should put Iraq first and not themselves. Sistani has considerable influence and signals fairly strong opposition to the politician. 

My Comment:

It's very clear that it's time for Maliki to go. As much credit as ISIS gets for their recent victories, none of it would have happened if not for the incompetence and corruption of the Maliki government. The walls are closing in on Maliki, and it's only a matter of time before he is gone. The question is whether he will step down peacefully or if he will be overthrown. He doesn't have a friend in the world right now so if he does decided to fight, he will lose and lose hard.