Slowly but surely, step by step, a functioning democracy is being created in the Arab world, and that is something wonderful to behold.BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament elected incumbent President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, for a second term on Saturday as politicians began putting together a national unity government after four months of political deadlock.
Talabani, who has spent most of his life fighting for the cause of the Kurds in northern Iraq, is the first non-Arab president of an Arab country.
"This is the new Iraq. The new Iraq is an Iraq for all," Talabani told the parliament in a brief acceptance speech.
"Iraqi unity is sacred for all, so we should all work to reinforce this national unity."
Read it here.
Televised news reports emphasize that Talabani [a Kurd] and his new Prime Minister, Jawad al-Maliki [a Shiite] will focus their efforts on fighting corruption and extending government control over the militias. Is this just US pleasing rhetoric? We'll see.
Stay tuned....
Captain Ed thinks this marks the emergence of an effective multi-ethnic unity government and spells doom for the insurgency. He writes "The battle for Iraq has been lost by the insurgents." Let us hope so. [here]
Outside the Beltway is less optimistic, but rightly notes that this is a necessary precursor to any effective settlement. [here]
Omar at Iraq the Model is skeptical. He writes: "[T]he question remains that; will the real problem be solved by this agreement on the top posts?" He thinks not. [here]
Here's the BBC biography of al-Maliki.
No comments:
Post a Comment