New Iraqi leader greeted with death, defiance, doubt

The death squads did not wait long to welcome Iraq's prime minister designate as they launched a series of attacks on Apr. 23 to demonstrate that the armed militias would not easily surrender their weapons. Jawad al-Maliki pledged that his immediate priority was to disband the gangs of gunmen who controlled huge swaths of the country. Yet within hours of his appointment, the mutilated bodies of 12 young victims were found dumped in Baghdad, and seven government workers died in a mortar attack on the heavily fortified green zone, where al-Maliki was holding discussions on the make-up of his cabinet. The timing was seen as deliberate by Western diplomats in the capital, who say that the new leader will be swiftly judged on his ability to establish a grip on security. Iraq's police and army are outnumbered and outgunned by militia loyal to powerful clerics and some of al-Maliki's most bitter political rivals. As he began a day of haggling over which parties should hold Iraq's most coveted posts in his government of national unity, the 56-year-old prime minister was interrupted by a flow of reports about insurgent attacks across the country. Three US soldiers died in a roadside bomb in the capital, bringing to eight the number of US troops killed that weekend. By dusk at least 23 Iraqis had been killed, most of them victims of the escalating sectarian violence. On the streets of Baghdad there was little sign of relief or excitement that four months of political stagnation might be over and the formation of a government imminent. Al-Maliki's choice of interior minister will be an early indication of how he hopes to bring the militia into the security services. The incumbent has been accused of running one of the most vicious death squads in Baghdad. Al-Maliki's Dawa party relies for support on the militant young cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, whose Mahdi army of more than 100,000 holds sway over three million people in northwest Baghdad. One Western diplomat said: "al-Maliki's aims are sound but how does he disarm the militias peacefully and not trigger an even nastier conflict in the process? That is a big [question]." Remarks by some Sunni leaders on Apr. 23 suggested that they remained suspicious of al-Maliki, who is a Shia. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni Arab faction in parliament, blamed Shia death squads for the execution of six men in the capital and gave warning of swift reprisals unless "the criminal gangs responsible" were arrested. Party officials close to al-Maliki say that he intends to dismiss ministers picked by his predecessor and friend, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. After absolutely refusing to step down from the post he occupied for little over two months, in a dramatic and mysterious reversal, al-Jaafari suddenly relinquished the nomination he had won in February's elections. On Apr. 19 he insisted that stepping aside was "out of the question." Two days later, under heavy pressure from the United States to resign, he did so. Many Iraqis say that they know little about al-Maliki. He was a pivotal figure in drawing up the constitution after the downfall of Saddam Hussein and presided over the committee that purged Saddam's cronies from top jobs in the military and government. This role has drawn charges from Sunni groups that he used the position to settle old scores and elevate his Shia friends. Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said that he was "someone we can work with" and urged al-Maliki to move quickly to improve Iraq's creaking infrastructure.