Pressure growing on Nouri al-Maliki, the man who could stop terror group ISIS in its tracks

THERE is one man in Iraq who could stop terror group ISIS without a drop of blood shed. Now pressure is growing for him to act.

NOURI al-Maliki is under pressure. The prime minister of Iraq is being accused of playing favourites and overseeing the rise of a terror group that is threatening to tear his country apart.

The calls for him to resign and make way for a more inclusive leader are now growing.

While the US originally backed al-Maliki, it now seems to believe a change of leader could be the key to halting the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which continues to take over territory in northern Iraq.

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It has been quite a turnaround. Al-Maliki came to power in Iraq with the backing of the US and Iran after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

But he has been unable to create a functional political system and there has been growing resentment among Iraq’s Sunni minority against his Shiite-led government.

Al-Maliki was a longtime opponent of Hussein, a Sunni, which is a branch of Islam and the world’s second largest religious body after Christianity.

News_Image_File: Uprising: A video posted by Iraqi0Revolution, which supports the al-Qaeda breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). AP: Iraqi0Revolution via AP video

Sunnis only make up one fifth of the population of Iraq but when Hussein was leader they held most of the positions of power in the country.

Al-Maliki, who is a member of the Shiite majority, was originally seen by the US as an even-handed and moderate leader but since the last of the US troops left in 2012, he has increasingly turned against the Sunnis and Kurds. This includes promoting Shiite officers in the Iraq military who did not deserve it and refusing to share power.

ISIS, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has tapped into discontent over the treatment of Sunnis and its growing influence has heightened pressure on al-Maliki to step aside.

If the Sunni insurgents succeed in their aim to create an Islamic state between Syria and Iraq, this could unsettle the volatile Middle East and serve as a magnet for Jihadists around the world - much like al-Qaeda attracted extremist in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

News_Image_File: What did I do? Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. AP Photo/Hadi Mizban

INCREASING PRESSURE ON MALIKI

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most respected voice for Iraq’s Shiite majority, on Friday joined calls for al-Maliki to reach out to Sunni and Kurdish minorities.

While al-Sistani did not mention al-Maliki directly, he called for the creation of a government that has “broad national support”.

It comes after US President Barack Obama hinted on Thursday at a withdrawal of support for al-Maliki.

“Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis,” Obama said.

US Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Martin Dempsey and David Petraeus, the former top US commander in Iraq, have all either called for Maliki to be more inclusive, or openly criticised him.

Former US ambassador to Baghdad James Jeffrey said there had been a “definite uptick” in Washington’s criticism of Maliki.

“Everybody is a bit at fault in Iraq on the sectarian thing, but Maliki over time did become more” sectarian, said Jeffrey, who left the post in mid-2012.

“He just isn’t the solution to a unified Iraq.”

News_Image_File: Abu Rasool al-Kubaisi clears debris at his home after a bombing in Fallujah, 65 kilometres west of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday. AP Photo

Officials in the United States and the Middle East have suggested privately that al-Maliki must leave office before Sunnis will believe that their complaints of marginalisation by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad will be addressed.

FUTURE IS UNCLEAR

Al-Maliki, who has led the country since 2006 has shown no sign he is willing to step down. However, he has been uncharacteristically silent since Obama and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric both urged the prime minister last week to form an inclusive government that promotes the interests of all of Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups.

While his State of the Law party won 92 seats in the latest election, more than any other group, it was not enough to form government.

The newly elected parliament must meet by June 30, when it will also elect a speaker and a new president. There are questions over whether al-Maliki will be able to cobble together support from other Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties to continue as prime minister.

US Secretary of State John Kerry met with al-Maliki for nearly two hours on Monday to emphasis the need for a government that unified the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish commities against the increasing threat posed by ISIS.

He said that it wasn’t Washington’s place to chose the next Iraqi leader. But US senior officals have reportedly said in private that al-Maliki should not serve a third term.

Al-Maliki has not commented in the past few days on whether he would be willing to step down.

Meanwhile Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he was opposed to any US involvement in the Iraqi crisis, accusing Washington of stirring up the unrest.

News_Image_File: Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader

The US has long accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, including organising and backing Shiite militias following the 2003 invasion. Al-Maliki has also increasingly turned to Iranian-backed Shiite militias and volunteers to bolster his beleaguered security forces.

A DIVISIVE FIGURE

“He (al-Maliki) made two mistakes: He didn’t bring enough Sunnis into his government - he didn’t distribute the resources well - and he controlled everything from Baghdad,” retired Marine general Anthony Zinni told Time magazine.

Other experts have accused al-Maliki of being extremely authoritarian and divisive.

“He’s governed Iraq with an iron fist, he has alienated large segments of the Iraqi population, including its Sunni and Kurdish inhabitants, and his governing style has led directly to this moment when he’s lost control of more of third of his country,” Peter Mansoor, the former executive officer to then general David Petraeus told CBC News.

“It says something when the Sunnis feel so bad about the way they’ve been treated that they would forge a temporary alliance with these very extremist jihadists.”News_Rich_Media: U.S. Secretary of State Kerry meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki on the heels of Sunni militants gaining control of a border crossing with Jordan. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

Iraq enjoyed several years of relative calm before violence spiked a year ago after al-Maliki moved to crush a Sunni protest movement against alleged discrimination and abuse at the hands of his government and security forces.

His moves against the Sunni population extend back to 2012 when al-Maliki ordered the arrest of the highest ranking Sunni in the government, vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi on a vague charge of running a death squad. Al-Hashimi eventually fled the country.

Sunnis were later purged from the new Iraqi intelligence agency and rising protests in Sunni regions including suicide bombings, were dealt with forcefully. The army has bombed and killed hundreds and in 2013, many of the Sunni members of Iraq’s parliament resigned in protest.