Iraq's coming election: The region's liveliest system Nov 11, 2009
One is led by Iyad Allawi, a keenly secular Shia and former Baathist who was a prime minister after the fall of Saddam Hussein. He has teamed up with Saleh al-Mutlaq, a stalwart Sunni member of parliament, to form the Iraqi National Movement. (The Economist)
Iraqis divide ahead of elections Nov 5, 2009
Three notable exceptions to the sectarian chorus in Iraq are former prime minister Iyad Allawi, and Sunni leaders Saleh al-Mutlak and Adnan al-Pachachi. Last week, they formed the Iraqi National Movement (INM), to run in the parliamentary elections scheduled for January. (Asia Times Online)
The Iraqi Time Bomb Oct 28, 2009
The main players in the election drama, so far, are Prime Minister Maliki, a religious Shiite politician from the fundamentalist Islamic Dawa party who's planning to run as a born-again Iraqi nationalist under his State of Law party banner; a broad coalition of Shiite religious parties, backed by Iran, including the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc; a secular, centrist bloc organized around former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and his Iraqiyya party, which has... (CBS News)
Sunnis present a new face in Iraq Oct 21, 2009
Sunni heavyweight Saleh al-Mutlak will be joining the coalition of former prime minister Iyad Allawi - yet another blow to the Accordance Front. Speaking from Baghdad, Samarrai said, "There are no red lines; we are open to dealing with everybody in order to solidify democracy.". (Asia Times Online)
Maliki hangs tough on Syria Sep 10, 2009
The Iraqi presidency released a statement on Tuesday, signed off by President Jalal Talabani, calling for "containing" the Syrian-Iraqi crisis, while ex-prime minister Iyad Allawi said that the entire ordeal was "fabricated" by the Iraqi government to cover up its own law-and-order shortcomings. He added that accusations against Damascus were neither diplomatic nor professional. (Asia Times Online)
Shi'ites unite in a new power grab Aug 26, 2009
While Maliki prepares to launch a new coalition next week, so is another prime minister hopeful, former premier Iyad Allawi. He in turn is trying to put together a team of Sunnis, Shi'ites and seculars like himself to challenge both Maliki and Jaafari. (Asia Times Online)
Kurds turn up the heat on Baghdad Aug 7, 2009
Heavyweights in the Iraqi political community, like Vice President Tarek Hashemi, Shi'ite Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al-Sadr and former prime minister Iyad Allawi, are all categorically opposed to granting Kirkuk to the Kurds. One week before Maliki went to Kurdistan, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was in Baghdad and urged both Arabs and Kurds to solve their problems before US troops withdrew by 2011. (Asia Times Online)
Syrian secularism under fire Jul 15, 2009
There are a few prominent Arab seculars, such as Egyptian scholar Nawal al-Saadawi, Syrian scholar Sadeq Jalal al-Azem and ex-Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi. They are a small minority in a region plagued by sectarianism and fanatics. (Asia Times Online)
Syria reaches out to 'friend' Iraq Apr 28, 2009
Syria tried to work with former prime ministers Iyad Allawi and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, but this was strongly vetoed by the George W Bush White House which blamed Damascus for most of the turmoil in Iraq after 2003 ... As of today, Syria has excellent relations with non-state players like Muqtada and heavyweights in the Sunni community like Mahmud al-Mashadani, the ex-speaker, Iyad Allawi, the secular ex-prime minister, and President Jalal Talabani. (Asia Times Online)
What Obama didn't see in Iraq Apr 9, 2009
That explains why Hakim is in Cairo, and why even Iyad Allawi, who served as interim prime minister between 2004-5, has said that he is willing to sit down and talk to Douri. "I support the integration of the Ba'athists into the political process," Allawi has said, signaling for the first time that working with the Ba'ath Party would be a benefit rather than a burden for the Iraqi government. (Asia Times Online)
Maliki learns from his mistakes Mar 13, 2009
Long-time opponents, like secular former prime minister Iyad Allawi, could not but applaud his rhetoric, with caution. So did rebel-turned politician Muqtada al-Sadr, who is bracing himself for a new alliance with Maliki and preparing to enter the Iraqi government with heavyweight ministries like Commerce, Education and Health (which he controlled in 2006-2007). (Asia Times Online)
The Muqtada factor re-emerges in Iraq Feb 25, 2009
When the Sadrists walked out on him, followed by the Iraqi National List of ex-prime minister Iyad Allawi, and the Iraqi Accordance Front, Maliki cuddled up to both the PUK and KDP, promising them a basket of reforms mainly related to keeping the Kurdish military group Peshmerga, protecting the autonomy of northern Iraq and the future of oil-rich Kirkuk, which the Kurds want incorporated into Iraqi Kurdistan. He also hinted at granting greater powers to the Kurds, who although currently seated... (Asia Times Online)
Debt as a unifying power in Iraq Feb 10, 2009
The Iraqi National List of Iyad Allawi, a secular coalition, won no more than 5. 5% of the votes. (Asia Times Online)
