The End of Maliki? Will a Coup Unravel Iraq?

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/23/1425227

Monday, October 23rd, 2006
The End of Maliki? Will a Coup Unravel Iraq? Robert Dreyfuss and Raed Jarrar Discuss the War in Iraq

The Bush administration is coming under increasing pressure for its handling of the war in Iraq in the face of relentless bloodshed there. Over 100 Iraqis and seven US troops were killed over the weekend in a wave of bombings and attacks that stretched across Iraq. Could a coup be in the works?

The Associated Press reports that October is on pace to the deadliest month for Iraqis since the AP began tracking deaths in April 2005. And the number of US troops killed in Iraq in October has reached eighty six, making it the deadliest month for American soldiers this year.

On Saturday, President Bush met with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and top U.S. commanders including General John Abizaid and General George Casey to discuss Iraq. The meeting came amid reports the US is losing confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki"s ability or willingness to stem the violence.

President Bush said his weekly radio address the US strategy in Iraq remained unchanged. He said "We will not pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete." But the New York Times reported on Sunday the Bush administration is for the first time drafting a timetable for the Iraqi government to address violence and assume a larger role in securing the country. According to the Times, officials said that Iraq would likely be asked to agree to a schedule of specific milestones, like disarming militias, or face political "penalties."

Some analysts say the plan is also an attempt to pre-empt the findings of the independent commission on Iraq led by former secretary of state James Baker. In an interview with President Bush this weekend, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked about Baker’s plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is “between ’stay the course’ and ‘cut and run.’” Bush responded, "We’ve never been stay the course, George."

Robert Dreyfuss joins me now from Washington DC. He has written extensively about Iraq for numerous publications and is author of the book, "Devil”s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam." I am also joined by Iraqi blogger and architect Raed Jarrar. He is the Iraq Project Director for Global Exchange and runs a blog called "Raed in the Middle."

* Robert Dreyfuss, author of "Devil”s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam." He covers national security for Rolling Stone and writes frequently for The American Prospect, Mother Jones, and the Nation.

* Raed Jarrar an Iraqi blogger and architect. His blog "Raed in the Middle" is at raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com. Raed is Iraq Project Director for Global Exchange.