"France's foreign minister risked fracturing his country's new relationship with America yesterday [August 26, 2007], by calling for Nouri al-Maliki, the
Iraqi prime minister, to be replaced," writes Telegraph.co.uk correspondent Peter Allen in an August 27, 2007, dispatch from Paris.
Mr. Allen noted that, "In an interview published in the American magazine Newsweek, Bernard Kouchner, who visited Baghdad last week, said:
I just had (Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State) on the phone 10 or 15 minutes ago, and I told her, 'Listen, he's got to be replaced'."Many people believe the prime minister ought to be changed. I don't know if that will go through though, because it seems President [George W] Bush is attached to Mr Maliki. But the government is not functioning.
"Last week," Mr. Allen recalled, [U.S.] President Bush defended the record of Mr Maliki, calling him "a good guy, a good man with a difficult job and I support him."
If were in Mr. al-Maliki's position I would take Mr. Bush's declaration of support with a grain of salt. He can't fix the mess the Americans created and now the Bush Administration is upset with him. In fact, no outsiders can fix it. However, the Iraqis will come to an accord once the Americans leave. They may fight among themselves for dominance but a stabilizing force, probably a strongman, will eventually emerge.
Iyad Allawi, reportedly the CIA's man in exile, fits the bill. Don't be surprised if Mr. al-Maliki is removed in a coup d'etat and Mr. Allawi reemerges in a pivotal role in Iraq.
By the way, the person to pay attention to when it comes to Mr. al-Maliki's political fate is Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, not Mr. Bush. He's the real ruler of Iraq. See "Crocker Disappointed With Progress."
To read more, please see "France calls for new Iraq prime minister." To read the Newsweek article on Mr. Kouchner, see "A Humanitarian-in-Chief."







