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Iraq, U.S. tensions deepen

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has ordered the removal of checkpoints established by American and Iraqi forces in a prominent Shia area in Baghdad, intensifying the tussle for political authority between the elected Government and the American authorities.

American officials were apparently taken by surprise by the Prime Minister's decision on Tuesday that military barriers in the troubled Sadr city — a Shia stronghold, and elsewhere in Baghdad should be removed.

A U.S. military spokesman said a meeting was being held to "formulate a response to address the Prime Minister's concerns."

American troops have been mounting a crackdown in Sadr city, threatening the hold of Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army there.

Analysts point out that with violence surging, the Americans appear to be running out of options to "stabilise" Iraq.

In the debate over Iraq's future, it is feared that division of Iraq along autonomous Sunni, Shia and Kurdish political enclaves as proposed by an American think tank is not a viable option.

Fearing that it could result in Iraq's partition on sectarian lines, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., Prince Turki al-Faisal, said the country would witness "ethnic cleansing on a massive scale, sectarian killing on a massive scale."

Meanwhile, The New York Times has reported that there is a suggestion in American academic circles that "a junta of military modernisers" should head Iraq, as its "democratic culture" was weak. Responding to mounting pressure that threatens his political survival, Mr. Al Maliki has backed a new political initiative aimed at national reconciliation on non-sectarian lines.

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