Iraqi Prime Minister Is Looking More And More Like A Dictator

There used to be a joke Iraqis told about television: There are only four channels, and Saddam is on every one of them.
Now Saddam's long dead, it's a decade later, and Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has openly censored the media.

It's just one in a long line of steps Maliki has taken to consolidate power.

Al Jazeera
and nine other stations have lost their licenses to broadcast in Iraq.
The Maliki government indicates the recent spate in sectarian violence,
and the media's perceived stoking of such violence, as their reason for
revoking the licenses.

Al Jazeera responded with astonishment, arguing that they cover "all sides" of every story.

"We urge the authorities to uphold freedom for the media to
report the important stories taking place in Iraq," the statement said.

Maliki's aggressive political steps
date back to his initial move toward power in 2006. He's staffed the
higher positions of government with Shia loyalists, and distanced his
government from Sunni and Kurdish leaders.

He's also created "extra-constitutional security bodies"
— so-called by Marisa Sullivan at the Institute for the Study of War —
bodies designed to give him a direct chain of command over security
forces, a command that conveniently side-steps the Ministries of Defence
and Interior.

Such consolidations allowed him to take an unprecedented move: what Maliki claims was an arrest, but what many call an assassination attempt
on Iraq's former finance minister. Luckily, and predictably, Rafi
Issawi was under the protection of the powerful Abu Risha clan and
avoided his fate, whatever it might have been.

Aside from being a long-time head of state, Issawi was a relatively new federal government's olive-branch symbol to the Sunni minority.
Issawi is part of that minority — notably, the ruling class beneath
Saddam's Iraq. Placement of religious leaders in state positions is
common practice in the Middle East, and a sign of solidarity in
religiously driven culture.

Issawi's protectors, The Risha Clan, arose during the Sunni Awakening, largely credited with turning the tide of war in Iraq.

In the end, Risha smelled the attempt coming and fled.

His resignation and subsequent criticisms just
days before the attempt could have been that proverbial straw to
Maliki's camel. During an interview with a local news affiliate in
Ramadi:

"Unfair
representation of Iraq’s diverse groups in ministries, government
institutions and state security, the issue of security, detention
policies ... the fact that the most sensitive state institutions are
today administered by proxy, the monopolization of all state security agencies
(which are becoming more and more sectarian in nature), and the blatant
persecution of the Sunni Arab community in the security sectors and
elsewhere, such as in higher education."

Several bombings have occurred in the last month, including the bloodiest day since last autumn, when 62 died on the anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq. Maliki says the bombings are pushing the country toward all-out civil war, and he may be right.

On the other hand, Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al Arabiya, wrote on April 14 that Maliki was another Saddam, except for one key detail: Iran's support.

"Maliki is practically another Saddam. But Maliki surpasses Saddam
because he is protected by Iran and he has double the funds of Saddam,
who was besieged during most of his years in power," Al-Rashed wrote.

he is not quite a dictator he is one. today he decided to ban ten tv news f show including algezzara . i quess m is killing to many people and does not want everyone to see it on tv

There is no question that Maliki has cleverly consolidated power and has maintained control of the Defense and Interior Ministries. He has cleverly agreed to everything necessary to put the "power sharing" government in place, but has not implemented any of them. This proved to be a great stall tactic and a way to create alliances which has enabled him to get the right people placed into positions to carry forward with his plans. In my opinion, I do not see Maliki following through with anything that would constitute a "power sharing" or what would be considered a stable government...EVER! I feel that Maliki would rather die than provide the type of government that we are looking for to reach our goal. In my mind that is what will happen when the violence continues to escalate without US or UN intervention. Someone will get him sooner or later! One would have to think that there are efforts by some group to get close enough to him to accomplish this deed. If he continues to kill Iraqis, this violence will escalate into some type of war that many would consider a civil war. We will have to wait and see what the nature of the escalating violence will be.

Great piece!

excellent but you left one key thing he rules by fear and kills his opponents and he has irans help this is why he is going no where unless some lucky bullet gets thru his security. even the un has no balls to bring him up on charges for braking un scantions

Jayzze, The way I took the banning, shutting down of those certain news stations was that they were inciting/ promoting / encourageing terrorism inside Iraq and that this was an effort to slow some of that. I could be mistaken but I don't think so, let me know.

no rick what you wrote is correct except for one thing the source m. mcontrols most of the newspapers and media by getting rid of outside sources one one has a real clue it becomes harder and harder this is a dictator who is going no where any time soon unless o shows real manhood and have the seals do the right thing