Iraq: IIP Threatens To Quit Gov’t

Iraqi Vice President and Chairman of Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP)Tarek Al  Hashemi threatened to withdraw from Iraqi government, citing the policy of exclusion and marginalization adopted by the incumbent government.
Al Hashemi lashed out at Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, and held him responsible for all the chaos on the Iraqi arena, saying that he has all authority to put things right, and thus, he is to blame for his failure to achieve peace and stability. Al Hashemy lamented that the strategic and decisive decisions are taken without consultation or coordination with members of the Political Council for National Security, saying ” So this body has been useless since it was established”.


He also lamented that the incumbent government is not a national unity government as it was supposed to be, accusing it of adopting a policy based on monopoly of power and violating many agreements and pledges concluded with the IIP according to which the party joined the government. “The decision of withdrawal will not be difficult, but it will be a historical one”, he said.


On the security file and the deteriorating situation in Baghdad, Al Hashemi said that the criminal elements must be chased and liquidated; pointing out that al Sadr town must be purged of the so called Al Mahdi Army and other guerillas which are spread in the country kidnapping and killing people in impunity. However, he hastened to say that Al Sadr townspeople are originally good but these criminal elements mar their image and spread lawlessness in the country and so they should be eliminated.