Iraq's president officially asked Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday to form a new management, giving him 30 days to choose a cabinet from in the middle of Iraq's fractious Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni political faction.
The ask for from President Jalal Talabani came two weeks after political leaders reached an accord to divide up the top government jobs, a deal that put Maliki, a Shi'ite, on track for a second term as leader.
The power-sharing pact, more than eight months after an uncertain March 7 parliamentary election, offered several hope that Iraq could avoid a return to the sectarian warfare that killed tens of thousands of people at its crest in 2006-07.
Iraq's peevish politicians have decided to return Shi'ite Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister, finish an eight-month impasse that raised fears of rehabilitated sectarian war, but leaving some Sunnis disbelieving he can forge national unity.The contract on top administration posts brings together Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds in a power-sharing agreement similar to the last Iraqi administration and could help forestall a slide back into sectarian bloodshed that raged after the 2003 U.S.-led attack.Sunnis, who under enemy control Iraq under Saddam Hussein, would have reacted with outrage had the Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance of ex-premier Iyad Allawi been totally barred from government. Some may still feel resentful because of Maliki's return.Full story
