by Michael Jansen

It is hardly surprising that the pullout of the last US combat troops in Iraq coincided with the collapse of the fragile “unity” deal between Shiite and Sunni politicians.

The Shiite fundamentalist and Sunni/secular camps have been engaged in a bitter power struggle ever since the 2010 parliamentary election. These camps are irreconcilable because the Shiite fundamentalists are led by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki who has been gradually concentrating power in his hands while the Sunni/secular camp has been trying to exercise the popular mandate it won as the largest party in parliament.

As US troops were preparing their departure, the secular Iraqiya bloc led by Iyad Allawi launched a boycott of parliament, complaining about the authoritarian line adopted by Maliki.

Maliki retaliated by issuing an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tareq Al Hashemi, accusing him of ordering his bodyguards to carry out bombings and assassinations. Hashemi flew to the safety of the Kurdish autonomous region. Maliki followed up the warrant by calling for the assembly to impeach Sunni Deputy Premier Saleh Al Mutlak on grounds of incompetence.

Apparently, Maliki was reacting to negative comments about his rule made by Mutlak to US media. When Mutlak said Maliki was a “dictator”, he retorted that Mutlak was a “deputy dictator” and decided to make his move against a politician accused of belonging to the outlawed Baath party.

Maliki is also angry with the Sunni majority Dyala and Salahuddin provinces which have been agitating for autonomy under Iraq’s federal law.

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