Will This Dog Bark?
This coming Sunday, March 12, is being watched by folks in the know as a Hound of the Baskervilles type clue to the immediate future of Iraq.
Iraq's political parties continued to wrangle over the formation of a new government Tuesday, as the ruling coalition of Shiite religious parties tried to delay the first meeting of parliament, scheduled for Sunday, to have more time to line up support for its nominee for prime minister.
President Jalal Talabani announced on Monday that the new National Assembly would have its first meeting on March 12, the deadline set by the constitution. But leaders of the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance, who have the largest bloc in the 275-member parliament elected in December, said they were lobbying Talabani to postpone the first session for perhaps a week. No decision had been made, they said.
Iraq's parliament and government frequently ignore deadlines set by law, with few if any consequences. But Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned that delays in forming a government could intensify the factional tensions already gripping the country and might intensify sectarian violence.
If the National Assembly does not have the mandated first meeting by the close of business on Sunday, it will be a big signal.
Like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, the absence of action in a situation where there should be will provide added evidence for the case that Iraq is heading for an intensification of it's unacknowledged (but real) civil war.
Iraq's political parties continued to wrangle over the formation of a new government Tuesday, as the ruling coalition of Shiite religious parties tried to delay the first meeting of parliament, scheduled for Sunday, to have more time to line up support for its nominee for prime minister.
President Jalal Talabani announced on Monday that the new National Assembly would have its first meeting on March 12, the deadline set by the constitution. But leaders of the Shiites' United Iraqi Alliance, who have the largest bloc in the 275-member parliament elected in December, said they were lobbying Talabani to postpone the first session for perhaps a week. No decision had been made, they said.
Iraq's parliament and government frequently ignore deadlines set by law, with few if any consequences. But Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned that delays in forming a government could intensify the factional tensions already gripping the country and might intensify sectarian violence.
If the National Assembly does not have the mandated first meeting by the close of business on Sunday, it will be a big signal.
Like the dog that didn't bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, the absence of action in a situation where there should be will provide added evidence for the case that Iraq is heading for an intensification of it's unacknowledged (but real) civil war.
posted by Effwit at 10:47 AM
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