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Iraq's parliament convened Thursday to vote on
key leadership positions in the first step toward forming a new
government, after a breakthrough deal that returns Shiite Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki to office for a second term but falls
short of Sunni hopes for greater political power.

      Al-Maliki and his top rival Ayad Allawi, who had hoped to take
the prime minister's post at the top of a Sunni-backed coalition,
sat next to each other in the parliament chamber in an apparent
sign of unity after a contentious, eight-month political fight over
the formation of the government.


      The deal reached late Wednesday ends the deadlock, but raises
concerns that Sunnis disillusioned with the political process could
return to the ranks of the insurgency, fueling new violence as the
United States prepares to remove the last of its troops from the
country by the end of next year.


      The deal is potentially a setback for the U.S., which had been
pushing for a greater Sunni say in power, and a boost for regional
rival Iran. The Sunni minority had put great hopes in the March
elections and succeeded in lifting their bloc to a hair's-breadth
victory, only to be outmaneuvered by Iranian-allied Shiites who
preserved their domination of the new government.


      Parliament on Thurdsay was to elect a parliament speaker, two
deputies and then the president, the first formal steps before
creating the new government. A vote on the full government could
still take several weeks, as the factions work out details. Massoud
Barzani, president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said he
expected a new government to be in place within a month.


      Allawi's Sunni-backed Iraqiya coalition won the most seats in
the March 7 parliament elections, but not a majority. That opened
the door for al-Maliki to cobble together alliances with religious
Shiite parties, gathering enough seats to force Allawi to make a
deal, thwarting his bids for both the prime minister job and the
presidency.


      Instead, Allawi will lead a newly created council to oversee
issues of security and foreign policy. But the council's powers
remain vague: Al-Maliki is unlikely to give up the reins over
security issues, and one of his key Shiite partners - the staunchly
anti-American Sadrist movement - also appears to be angling for a
hand as well.


      "I don't think we got what we wanted. We are the biggest bloc,
and we won the election," said Jaber al-Jaberi, and Iraqiya
lawmaker from the Sunni stronghold Ramadi. "We earned the right to
form the government. However, there were powerful forces ... and we
compromised."


      The Sunnis did get a few consolation prizes, and the United
States praised the fact that the new government would have at least
some Sunni presence.


      "The apparent agreement to form an inclusive government is a
big step forward for Iraq," said Tony Blinken, national security
adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, the administration's point man
for Iraq.


      Barzani praised the deal, calling it fair to all blocs. "We
cannot expect that any block gets everything," he said. There was
no immediate comment from Allawi. According to media reports,
Allawi, al-Maliki and Barzani met Thursday, but there was no
confirmation of the meeting.


      The deal preserves the sectarian breakdown of positions that has
held since the first elected government in 2005: Shiites hold the
prime ministry, Sunnis the parliament speaker, and the Kurds the
presidency. President Jalal Talabani was expected to be elected to
a second term.


      But it leaves unresolved the sectarian wounds that have bloodied
the country since Saddam Hussein was toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion. His fall ended political domination by the Sunni minority
and brought the Shiite majority to power. Sunnis responded by
becoming the backbone of the insurgency against the government,
sparking vicious Shiite-Sunni violence that nearly pushed the
country into civil war.


      With the insurgency eased since 2008, the Americans had hoped
the election could create a new sectarian political balance to
ensure stability as U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq. Sunnis turned
out in droves for the March election despite purges of their
candidates. In Sunni neighborhoods, there was dancing in the
streets and celebratory gunfire when the results were announced.


      The drawn-out wrangling over the government left a political
void that many feared was fueling new bloody attacks by Sunni
insurgents and al-Qaida's branch in the country.


      Now the question is whether Sunnis will support the new
government - or be tempted to turn back to the insurgency. Many
Sunnis will likely look at the result as the will of neighboring
Shiite-majority Iran, which they believe seeks to wield influence
over Iraq.


      The extent of Sunni power in the new government will not become
clear until the allocation of ministry posts is announced - and
until the powers of the council Allawi is to head are defined and
approved by parliament.


      An Iraqiya lawmaker said the council would be a 20-member body
including the prime minister but headed by Allawi. Falah al-Nakeed
said all strategic decisions over security, foreign policy and
anything concerning the "destiny" of the country, would have to
be passed unanimously by the council.


      "It will be a real check on al-Maliki's power," al-Nakeed
said.


      But lawmakers from al-Maliki's State of Law bloc implied that
was not the case, setting the stage for further battles.


      The Sunnis' weight in the government will depend on other
factors as well. Power in Iraq is often determined not just by
formal roles but by the personalities of the individuals and their
party backing.


      The presidency, for example, is largely a ceremonial job, but
Talabani has been able to wield considerable power because of his
background as a longtime Kurdish leader and the Kurds' dominance in
the north. In contrast, an earlier Sunni defense minister was an
independent with no party backing and less authority that his title
would suggest.


      Allawi has been criticized for his lack of participation in the
previous parliament, preferring instead to spend time at his London
house. For his council to have any weight, Allawi would have to
play a vigorous and daily role.


      The new government could also give a significant role to the
Sadrist movement, led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who
has grown closer to Iran. Al-Maliki's alliance with the Sadrists
was key to keeping him in power.


      Sadrist lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili, said they have yet to discuss
details of ministry positions. But he said the first thing to do
was a shake-up of the security services, raising the prospect that
Sadrists seek positions there.


      "We think that the first decision the government should take is
to change some ineffective military commanders and purge the
security forces of corrupt members," he said.


      A direct role by the Sadrists in the security apparatus would
likely severely curtail American support of Iraq's fledgling
forces. The U.S. and the Sadrists do not have any contact, and the
Sadrists consider the Americans to be an occupying power. Members
of al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, have attacked American
troops, and were one of the main players behind sectarian violence.


      Iraqiya lawmakers said they won a concession to get rid of a law
helping purge members of Hussein's former regime from government
posts in two years. The so-called De-Baathification law was reviled
by Sunnis who felt it was a thinly veiled attempt to keep them out
of positions of influence.


      Al-Jaberi said that with the council and the end of the
De-Baathification law, the Shiites "showed to us they want to open
a new page."

      But he left open the possibility that Iraqiya could always
withdraw its support for the government. "We can always change our
minds. We have 91 seats in the parliament."


      Associated Press writers Barbara Surk and Sameer N. Yacoub in
Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.

Gallery

A breakthrough deal returns Shiite Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki to office for a second term but falls short of Sunni hopes for greater political power.

Ibrahim Jafari, Nouri al-Maliki,  Jalal Talabani ,

Iraqi parliament convenes in 1st steps to new govt

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