* Biden’s visit to Baghdad and the U.S. three power-sharing scenarios

As often, the Sadrists did not hesitate to express their rejection to the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Bagh­dad with their own style, by putting their mark on this visit with three Katyusha rockets exploded around the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone.

At the same time, the Supreme Council led by Ammar Al-Hakim did not issue an official position on the scenario for the formation of the government, but the condemnation expressed by the Sadrists, either through a statement released by Muqtada Al-Sadr, in which he called, Maliki and Allawi not to bow to the U.S. pressure, or a statements made by the leader of the Supreme Council Sadr al-Din Qabanji — close to Iran, which he noted that Biden’s visit aims to pressure the Iraqi leaders to implement the American agenda.

Need to notice, that the U.S. Con­gress delegation headed by Senator John McCain, excluded Ammar Al-Hakim from their meetings with the Iraqi leaders, despite that the U.S. met the rest of the Iraqi political figures. A deliberate exclusion which might have paved the way for Vice-President Biden to introduce his power-sharing plan, which exclude all those who are connected to Iran from the “active” government.

Accord­ing to Maliki’s spokesman Ali Al-Dabagh, Biden presented three suggestions to Maliki which (in Biden’s opinion) can formulate the shape of the coming government in Iraq. Further, Dabagh gave no details on these three suggestions.

1st scenario:

Favored by Washington, an alliance between the “State of Law” and Al-Iraqiya to form a parliamentary majority government, leaving the rest of the blocs in the parliamentary opposition seats. This scenario is put clearly in the letter of 34 mem­bers of the U.S. Con­gress to Maliki, and criticized by President Jalal Talabani during his meeting with the U.S. Con­gress delegation headed by Senator John McCain during their meeting in his office last Friday.

2nd scenario:

Emphasized by Biden in previous visit, according to sources, who wish to form a government, and has previously put on the Iraqi factions during his previous visit to Baghdad.

The coali­tion of the willing, is the reformation of the parliamentary map between those who wish to form a majority government and those who prefer to stay in the opposition. This scenario is rejected by the Kurds and the Supreme Council, stressing on the importance of forming a national unity government.

3rd scenario:

The shift towards the concept of strategic partnership requires a technocrats-government, can be formed from the various political blocs dis­trib­uted on the governmental sovereign posts, which may be closer to the quo­tas “Muhasasa” formation of the previous government led by Maliki. Maliki, Allawi agreed with this scenario, while rejected by the Kurds and the Iraqi National Alliance.

The common line between all these scenarios is to avoid the formation of a government based on quotas where the security forces are controlled by parties loyal to Iran, particularly those militias formed in Iran, referring to Badr Organiza­tion, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Council, or the Iranian-backed mili­tias such as Asaib Al-Haq, and Hezbollah Brigades, which are described as a terrorist groups by the U.S. military.

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