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Too big for his shoes?
There are concerns about Al Maliki's confidence that Iraq can cope without US troops.
- By Mayada Al Askari, Staff Writer
- Published: 23:47 August 23, 2008
During an October 2006 video conference, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki told US President George W. Bush "I consider myself a friend of the US, but I'm not America's man in Iraq".
Before that, in November, Al Maliki was late for a meeting with Bush in Jordan, after a US memo was leaked casting doubts on Al Maliki's ability to deal with the sectarian warfare in Iraq. Al Maliki's late arrival was a show of discontent that was played down by the US administration at the time.
Today, US officials are concerned over Al Maliki's overconfidence about his government's ability to cope without US troops in Iraq.
The prime minister's transformation is not unexpected; he is a man who ponders, decides and sticks to his decisions, exactly as his grandfather did back in the Iraq of the 1930's when he was minister of education.
Abu Al Mahasin gave the then British-backed Iraqi government headaches as he stuck to his views, which he believed were for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
Colin Kahl, a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), which supports a long-term US military presence in Iraq, told the press recently that there were concerns about Al Maliki's overconfidence, which is making it difficult for the Americans to interact with him.
There are other statements by US administration officials implying that Al Maliki's public demands for a timetable for US military withdrawal are merely negotiating ploys or political grandstanding.
But we know otherwise, for Abu Israe' (as Al Maliki is known in Iraq) has brilliantly stuck to his guns.
As a result, a new sense of pride is installed in many Iraqis. A senior Iraqi officer at the ministry of defense said: "When Al Maliki passes by our barracks, we are this much short of chanting for him. Iraqis will never chant for a leader again as they have learnt their lesson well with Saddam Hussain. But with Al Maliki, I see genuine respect."
Refusal
Surprisingly, the same applies to the US side. "None of the US officials in Baghdad would lead off with badmouthing the prime minister," Kahl said in an interview. He also said that "you get a sense they are concerned that Al Maliki's regime has an inflated sense of his power."
This notion came as a result of the Iraqi leader's refusal to go along with an agreement with the US that lacked a timetable for withdrawal of all US troops. Kahl goes a step further by saying that "Al Maliki is successfully fashioning himself as an Iraqi hero who kicked the Americans out. That makes him difficult to negotiate with." Which is understandable. Dealing with "yes men" is what any occupation force would like to see, but with Al Maliki matters will not be that easy.
At one point during the US-Iraqi negotiations, there were many speculations about the Iraqi stand, and people actually believed that the Iraqi government was going to sign the strategic treaty as drafted by the Americans. At the time, Al Maliki was in Rome, scheduled to meet the Pope, a senior advisor to Al Maliki laughed out loud upon hearing this, he said "The man has vowed not to further burden the Iraqi people with a hand binding treaty."
Al Maliki has made a series of moves that have consolidated his personal power within the state apparatus as well as in relation to various armed groups in the country. He has put intelligence agencies directly under his control and has set up major military operation centres around the country which report directly to the prime minister's office.
In a war-torn country, which emerged recently out of 13 years of sanctions, three major wars and a 35-year-old dictatorship, who can blame Al Maliki if he is careful about the future of his country?
The US is dealing with an Iraqi man who, for the first time since the downfall of the former regime in 2003, has a vision and a strategy, which might not suit the Americans.
Any other politician, backed by a foreign force, would plead for that force to stay on, but according to Al Maliki, the priority is the country and the interest of its people.
When Al Maliki told the US president that he was not America's man in Iraq, the late White House spokesman, Tony Snow, agreed, with Al Maliki's stance: "He's not America's man in Iraq, the United States is there in a role to assist him, he's the prime minister; he's the leader of the Iraqi people. He is, in fact, the sovereign leader of Iraq."
As this statement was made by the US official White House spokesman, the US must realise that this is exactly how Al Maliki perceives himself, and will act accordingly.
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