BAGHDAD (AP) — With political leaders deadlocked, Iraq’s
parliament squabbled Monday over when to hold its next session,
potentially delaying the formation of a new government for weeks despite
the threat from extremists who have seized control of a large chunk of
the country and declared the establishment of an Islamic state.
The
acting speaker of parliament initially announced that the legislature
would not meet again until mid-August because there was no agreement
among factions over the top leadership posts — particularly the prime
minister, with incumbent Nouri al-Maliki facing a campaign to replace
him.
But after an uproar over the long delay, speaker Mahdi
al-Hafidh announced Monday night that there was a preliminary agreement
among lawmakers to meet Sunday, July 13. But even that appeared
uncertain, since al-Hafidh added that an official announcement of the
date would not come until Tuesday.
With politicians struggling to
even agree on when to meet, it was hard to see how they could quickly
forge a compromise on the much thornier issue of a new government. The
impasse, coupled with the military’s sluggish counteroffensive,
underlined just how difficult a task Iraqis face as they try to keep
their country from fracturing along sectarian and ethnic lines.
The
military suffered a new setback in its battle with the extremist
advance Monday when the top commander of the armed forces battling
militants in the west was killed by a mortar strike.
The United
States, which withdrew the last American troops from Iraq in 2011, and
other world powers have pressed for the quick formation of a new
government, as has Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, the revered Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani. They are calling for an inclusive government that will draw
support among Iraq’s Sunni minority away from the insurgency, led by a
radical al-Qaida breakaway group called the Islamic State.
In
Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. was
disappointed that Iraq’s leaders haven’t moved more quickly to unify the
country. He said difficult steps must be taken to solve the problem,
but that "reaching those agreements and making those difficult decisions
are necessary for Iraq to survive."
Lawmakers met last week for
the new parliament’s first session since April elections, but the
meeting ended without agreeing on a new prime minister, president and
speaker of parliament. The legislature had been expected to meet again
Tuesday, but that session was called off since no progress had been made
over the past week untangling the political situation.
The main
point of contention right now is the post of prime minister, which holds
most of the power in Iraq. Al-Maliki’s opponents — and many former
allies — want him removed, accusing him of monopolizing power during his
eight years in office and contributing to the current crisis by failing
to promote reconciliation with Sunnis.
Al-Maliki, whose State of
Law bloc won the largest share of seats in April’s election, has vowed
he will not abandon his bid for a third consecutive term. But he didn’t
win a majority in parliament and so needs allies to form a government.
An
alliance grouping Shiite parties has yet to decide on its candidate for
the job. The Sunnis and Kurds have refused, in turn, to present their
respective nominees for speaker and president. Under an informal system
that took root after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam
Hussein, the prime minister’s job goes to a Shiite, the president’s post
to a Kurd and the speaker of parliament’s chair to a Sunni.
Some
of the stiffest criticism of al-Hafidh’s initial decision for an Aug. 12
parliament session came from the Shiite alliance, an umbrella group
that includes al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc. It said the lengthy delay
doesn’t serve the country’s interests, and it urged him to set a date no
more than a week away — a demand that July 13 meets.
But Sunni
lawmaker Dhafir al-Ani said it was the Shiite alliance that demanded the
postponement due to difficulties within its ranks in settling on a
candidate for prime minister.
There’s no guarantee that even with a
new government Iraq can roll back the militants. The insurgent blitz
has overrun most Sunni-majority areas of the country — including the
second largest city Mosul — in a matter of weeks. But it has slowed
since encountering stronger resistance in Shiite-dominated areas.
Last
week, the group declared the establishment of a caliphate ruled by
Shariah law in the land it controls in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
The
Iraqi military launched an offensive aimed at recapturing the northern
city of Tikrit, but the insurgents remain firmly in control of the city
and have harried the army with roadside bombs.
Near Beiji north of Tikrit, government troops protecting the country’s largest oil refinery remain under
siege.
Sabah
al-Nuaman, the spokesman for counterterrorism services, said airstrikes
hit a 60-vehicle insurgent convoy moving toward Beiji on Monday,
destroying as many as 45 of them. The report could not be independently
verified.
The government has also struggled for months to wrest back ground lost west of Baghdad in the
Sunni-dominated province of Anbar.
On
Monday, a mortar attack killed the commander of the Iraqi army’s 6th
division, Maj. Gen. Najim Abdullah Ali, while he was overseeing a raid
on the Anbar village of Karma, army spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan
Ibrahim said.
Al-Maliki lamented Ali’s death, calling him a "holy
warrior" who was "martyred in the battlefield as he was fighting the
terrorists."
Sunni militants seized control of the city of
Fallujah, near Karma, and parts of the Anbar provincial capital of
Ramadi in January. The government has since reasserted its control of
Ramadi, but Fallujah remains in insurgent hands.
In Baghdad, a
suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a checkpoint
in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, killing five policemen and
three civilians, a police official said. He said 16 people were wounded.
A medical official confirmed the casualty figures.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
___
Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad, and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this
report.