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Iraqi Parliament approves Cabinet; differences over portfolios remain

Atul Aneja

Prime Minister to set timetable for transfer of security mission

DUBAI: Iraq's Parliament has approved a new Government, but differences among members still persist over candidates who would head the Ministries of National Security, Interior and Defence.

The Government has representatives from the country's majority Shia, Sunni and Kurdish communities.

However, the tussle for power, especially between the Shia and Sunni communities, has been reflected in the difficulties in finding suitable candidates for Ministries dealing with National Security.

Prior to Iraq's December 2005 elections, the Shia group, Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) dominated the Interior Ministry, amid allegations that members of its militia had been inducted in large numbers in the security forces. Sunni groups accused the Interior Ministry of running death squads that operated on sectarian lines.

Iran association

The SCIRI has had a close association with Iran and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, had also opposed the persistence of SCIRI's domination in the Interior Ministry.

With an agreement not in sight, Iraq's new Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki, a Shia, will be in charge of the Interior Ministry while Salam al-Zaubai, a Sunni, will run Defence.

The dissonance in the new Parliament became apparent when Saleh-al-Mutlaq, the leader of a key Sunni party staged a walkout after it was announced that a final decision on the candidates for the security ministries had been deferred.

Earlier, the leader of the Dialogue party, a smaller Sunni faction, had also expressed his dissatisfaction at the negotiations, which had led to the allocation of portfolios.

During the course of the swearing-in ceremony, the 275-member Parliament approved each Cabinet Minister that Mr. Al Maliki proposed, by a show of hands. Among the posts that have been allotted, Hoshyar Zabari, a Kurd has got the Foreign Ministry — a position he has held since 2003. The crucial Oil Ministry has gone to Hussain al-Shahristani, a Shia, who was the former deputy parliamentary Speaker.

The approval of the new Government comes in the wake of spiralling violence that has taken a heavy toll of lives. Shortly before Parliament convened, at least 19 persons were killed and 58 wounded in a bombing, in an area of Baghdad where the Shias dominate.

In another incident, a suicide bomber attacked a police station in the western border town of Al Qaim, killing at least five persons and injuring 10.

During his first address to Parliament, Mr. Al-Maliki said that restoration of stability and security would be his top priority. He said that he would set "an objective timetable to transfer the full security mission to Iraqi forces, ending the mission of the multinational forces."

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