Word: sunni
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...reconciliation efforts fail, Maliki would have little choice but to find other Sunni partners, who would be essential in establishing any sense of government legitimacy in an already troubled Maliki administration, which is losing support even among some stalwart Shi'ite circles. Sittar and his followers, should they be interested, represent a distant, difficult possible alternative. If Sittar becomes part of the Maliki coalition, it would be seen as a positive step by the Americans because of his recent cooperation with the U.S. military in Anbar. That closeness, however, may be politically problematical for Maliki, who has been attempting...
...condition of anonymity, said Maliki's advisers appear split on the issue. Some of them appear to be urging Maliki to renew the Tawafiq partnership in an effort to stop already deep sectarian rifts from widening still further. Others close to the Prime Minister seem to think that the Sunni bloc is best let go, since virtually no political compromises ever seemed reachable with them. What Maliki himself is willing to consider will only be revealed if peace talks with Tawafiq falter. "We have a situation evolving right now that might lead to some fairly dramatic changes," the diplomat said...
...election was held to replace two assassinated legislators from the anti-Syrian ruling coalition of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. And the government comfortably won one of those seats - the one formerly occupied by the late Walid Eido, a Sunni member of parliament who was killed in June by a bomb set next to his favorite beach club. But holding Eido's seat wasn't much of a challenge: He had represented a strong Sunni Muslim district in West Beirut where support for Siniora is strong. The bombshell came in the majority Christian district known as the Metn in the mountains...
...resignations of Sunni and secular members of his cabinet only confirm what Iraqis have known for months, but the Bush Administration has steadfastly refused to acknowledge: that Maliki is himself a hindrance to national reconciliation. Even his severest critics in Washington seem to think Maliki is guilty only of incompetence - that he lacks the political skills to bring together Iraq's warring communities. But it's not that he can't reach out to the Sunnis: he just...
...election results and the wider campaign against the government reflects not so much an attack on democracy as it does the failure of the country's sectarian system to resolve internal disputes. The system, which reserves the presidency for the Maronite Christians, the Prime Minister's job for a Sunni, the speaker of parliament for a Shi'ite and generally distributes power on the basis of ethnicity and sect, was originally created to achieve stability through a careful balance of power. Instead, it has produced political deadlock and a system dominated by leaders whose domestic power is based on alliances...