next week's issues, or not

There's a few bits of chatter making their way through the Iraqi media, which may or may not amount to anything but are at least worth flagging.

* there's another round of "the Accordance Front is coming back to the government" chatter.  These rumors tend to circulate every couple of months.   Maybe it's even true this time - those parties may be spooked by the prospect of losing provincial elections, they may feel the boycott has run its course, they may finally have had their price met.  The reports claim that the Sunni parties have circulated lists of proposed replacement cabinet members, and that Maliki will act when he returns from Europe.  But these rumors circulate frequently... believe it when it happens.

* there's another round of "the oil law is on its way" chatter.  Ditto.

* there's a lot of speculation about the real reason for the removal of Generals Mohan al-Furaiji and Abd al-Jalil Khalaf from Basra (which other sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry are denying).   It could be read as an admission of the operation's real failure, it could be a response to the demands of ISCI (al-Zaman runs with an inflammatory headline blaming the "Iranian lobby in Iraqi government"), or it could be a conflict between Maliki and power centers in the military.  Reidar Visser attributes it to "a ruling clique that sees the necessity of first and foremost staying united in the face of growing parliamentary opposition." Lots of speculation at this point... we'll see how it resolves itself. 

All right, back to work now.

Comments

[thomas]

what about the newest round of amnesty chatter?

[aardvark]

thomas, it's a great question - don't have much on it. The reported numbers are huge, we've seen some Iraqi politicians (like Hashemi) challenging the numbers, and I haven't seen much of the images or stories you'd expect with the release of so many people (either happy reunions or bitter young men). It's on the radar.