Kurdish Leader Talabani to Be Named Iraq President

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Veteran Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani will be named Iraq's new president at a parliament meeting on Wednesday, senior government sources said.

They said the two vice presidents would be Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shi'ite politician who is currently finance minister, and outgoing President Ghazi Yawar, a Sunni Arab.

The naming of a president and two vice presidents is a key step toward forming a government. The presidential council must then appoint a prime minister, who will choose a cabinet. Political wrangling has delayed the formation of a new government, angering many Iraqis who braved suicide bombs and insurgent threats to vote in the Jan. 30 polls.

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_international.asp?id=65839

democratically elected government, yet the "president" will be from the ethnic group comprising the smallest minority population in the country?

Somehow I don't quite buy it.

groups and within the groups. It's a long way to go as these folks try to write a constitution.....stay tuned.

Meanwhile.....rumors that Kurds are going to be sold out again, this time by their own leaders....story is in the current WMW (URL in my sig)

Isn't that what everyone was saying the day after the election?

.....but what a name to be made President of Iraq!

_
Talabani is a hero among the Kurdish Community. He fought against the Saddam Hussein Regime for most of his life.

He fled back and forth to Iran and coordinated the resistance against Saddam, which I believe led to that one town being gassed by Saddam after the town joined forces with Iran. Halabja, the town attacked by poison gas, had sided with the Iranians.

To put it into perspective, let's say the US was fighting Mexico and after a few years, Houston sided with the Mexicans, the US government would kill everyone it had too to stop the allegiance of Houston and Mexico, right?

That is basically the scenario that led to the gassing of the Kurds in Halabja, back in March 1988.

Hard Fact: The same gas was being used on the front lines against the Iranian troops.