This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/25/world/middleeast/iraq-president-fouad-massoum.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraq Picks New President to Confront Militant Threat | Iraq Picks New President to Confront Militant Threat |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BAGHDAD — Trying to piece together a new government to confront a Sunni militant offensive and growing internal strains, Iraqi leaders on Thursday selected a well-regarded Kurdish politician to be the country’s new president. | BAGHDAD — Trying to piece together a new government to confront a Sunni militant offensive and growing internal strains, Iraqi leaders on Thursday selected a well-regarded Kurdish politician to be the country’s new president. |
| Though the post is largely ceremonial, Iraqi officials said the choice was a vital step to try to ease the growing distrust between the country’s northern Kurdish population and the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad and present a more united front against the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. | |
| Yet even as the government is trying to rally, the Sunni militants are consolidating their grip over a broadening portion of the map. Along with the nuts and bolts of traditional governance, like paving neglected roads, ISIS is also employing violence and intimidation in the quest to create a hard-line Islamist caliphate. | Yet even as the government is trying to rally, the Sunni militants are consolidating their grip over a broadening portion of the map. Along with the nuts and bolts of traditional governance, like paving neglected roads, ISIS is also employing violence and intimidation in the quest to create a hard-line Islamist caliphate. |
| On Thursday, militants destroyed a shrine in Mosul that was said to be the tomb of the prophet Jonah, and there have been increasing reports of public executions. Reports also surfaced of an edict ordering women and girls to undergo genital mutilation in ISIS-held territory, though some Mosul residents said they had seen no evidence it was being enforced, and some militant-affiliated social media accounts denied it. | On Thursday, militants destroyed a shrine in Mosul that was said to be the tomb of the prophet Jonah, and there have been increasing reports of public executions. Reports also surfaced of an edict ordering women and girls to undergo genital mutilation in ISIS-held territory, though some Mosul residents said they had seen no evidence it was being enforced, and some militant-affiliated social media accounts denied it. |
| The starkly divergent scenes — of a political class in the capital struggling to make the country whole, and militants taking every measure to carve it up — presented a picture of a country in chaos just as President Obama is set to weigh recommendations by the Pentagon for possible military action, which could include airstrikes, either by drones or warplanes. | The starkly divergent scenes — of a political class in the capital struggling to make the country whole, and militants taking every measure to carve it up — presented a picture of a country in chaos just as President Obama is set to weigh recommendations by the Pentagon for possible military action, which could include airstrikes, either by drones or warplanes. |
| Six weeks after ISIS seized Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, there is a growing sense that much of the country, even if it does not break into three nations — a Kurdish state in the north, a largely Shiite area in the central area and south and a Sunni state in the west — is likely to remain beyond the control of a Baghdad government for some time. | Six weeks after ISIS seized Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, there is a growing sense that much of the country, even if it does not break into three nations — a Kurdish state in the north, a largely Shiite area in the central area and south and a Sunni state in the west — is likely to remain beyond the control of a Baghdad government for some time. |
| In testimony before the Senate on Thursday, Brett McGurk, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran and Iraq, portrayed an increasingly decentralized Iraqi government as the most likely way forward. “There is a recognition in Iraq that from the center out you’re never going to fully control all of these areas, and particularly given the capacity of ISIL,” he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. | In testimony before the Senate on Thursday, Brett McGurk, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Iran and Iraq, portrayed an increasingly decentralized Iraqi government as the most likely way forward. “There is a recognition in Iraq that from the center out you’re never going to fully control all of these areas, and particularly given the capacity of ISIL,” he said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS. |
| Iraq’s leader, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, has been pressing for increased military aid, from the United States and elsewhere. | Iraq’s leader, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, has been pressing for increased military aid, from the United States and elsewhere. |
| Hundreds of American military advisers are now staffing two operations centers in Iraq, and American military planes are flying 50 surveillance flights a day through Iraqi airspace. On Thursday, Mr. Maliki met in Baghdad with Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the United States Central Command, and dispatched his defense minister to Russia to seek more military aid. Iranian military advisers are also said to be operating in Iraq, and organizing Shiite militias. | Hundreds of American military advisers are now staffing two operations centers in Iraq, and American military planes are flying 50 surveillance flights a day through Iraqi airspace. On Thursday, Mr. Maliki met in Baghdad with Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the United States Central Command, and dispatched his defense minister to Russia to seek more military aid. Iranian military advisers are also said to be operating in Iraq, and organizing Shiite militias. |
| In Baghdad, for one day at least, even as violence continued to engulf the country and just before the nearly weeklong holiday for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration at the conclusion of Ramadan, Iraqi leaders celebrated their selection of a new president on Thursday. | In Baghdad, for one day at least, even as violence continued to engulf the country and just before the nearly weeklong holiday for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration at the conclusion of Ramadan, Iraqi leaders celebrated their selection of a new president on Thursday. |
| The Parliament voted to approve Fouad Massoum, 76, a Kurdish politician and former guerrilla fighter against Saddam Hussein’s regime, as the country’s new president. He replaces Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who had been president since 2005 and was seen as a rare unifying figure among Iraq’s many factions but has been largely absent from the political scene since suffering a stroke in late 2012. | The Parliament voted to approve Fouad Massoum, 76, a Kurdish politician and former guerrilla fighter against Saddam Hussein’s regime, as the country’s new president. He replaces Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who had been president since 2005 and was seen as a rare unifying figure among Iraq’s many factions but has been largely absent from the political scene since suffering a stroke in late 2012. |
| “Everyone likes him,” Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite lawmaker, said of Mr. Massoum. “He is a moderate man and was agreed to by everyone.” | “Everyone likes him,” Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite lawmaker, said of Mr. Massoum. “He is a moderate man and was agreed to by everyone.” |
| A week before, Parliament elected Salim al-Jubouri, a moderate Sunni Islamist, to the position of speaker, which was the first step in forming a new government after national elections in April. Under an informal political bargain forged after the toppling of Mr. Hussein in 2003, the Iraqi presidency is held by a Kurd, the speaker of Parliament is a Sunni Arab and the position of prime minister, the most powerful post, goes to a Shiite. | A week before, Parliament elected Salim al-Jubouri, a moderate Sunni Islamist, to the position of speaker, which was the first step in forming a new government after national elections in April. Under an informal political bargain forged after the toppling of Mr. Hussein in 2003, the Iraqi presidency is held by a Kurd, the speaker of Parliament is a Sunni Arab and the position of prime minister, the most powerful post, goes to a Shiite. |
| The next political step, the selection of a new prime minister, will be more fraught. That process will determine the future of Mr. Maliki, who has been in power since 2006 but who has become an increasingly polarizing figure as the insurgency has grown and sectarian violence has intensified to a level not seen since 2006 and 2007. | The next political step, the selection of a new prime minister, will be more fraught. That process will determine the future of Mr. Maliki, who has been in power since 2006 but who has become an increasingly polarizing figure as the insurgency has grown and sectarian violence has intensified to a level not seen since 2006 and 2007. |
| Hours before Parliament voted on the presidency on Thursday, an attack on a convoy of prisoners near Baghdad killed more than 60 people. Later, two car bombs struck a street in central Baghdad packed with restaurants and cafes just as residents were breaking their Ramadan fast. Nearly two dozen people were killed. | Hours before Parliament voted on the presidency on Thursday, an attack on a convoy of prisoners near Baghdad killed more than 60 people. Later, two car bombs struck a street in central Baghdad packed with restaurants and cafes just as residents were breaking their Ramadan fast. Nearly two dozen people were killed. |
| The dawn attack on the convoy was similar to two cases last month, which took place in murky circumstances but are regarded as some of the worst recent sectarian abuses carried out by the Shiite-dominated government or affiliated militias. | The dawn attack on the convoy was similar to two cases last month, which took place in murky circumstances but are regarded as some of the worst recent sectarian abuses carried out by the Shiite-dominated government or affiliated militias. |
| Mr. Maliki has insisted that he will seek a third term, but he faces an array of opponents and has lost support from abroad. American officials, who believe he has become too divisive to lead the nation out of its current crisis, have been working behind the scenes to push Iraq’s leaders to select someone else. And Iran, which exerts enormous influence here, has signaled it would like to see new leadership. | Mr. Maliki has insisted that he will seek a third term, but he faces an array of opponents and has lost support from abroad. American officials, who believe he has become too divisive to lead the nation out of its current crisis, have been working behind the scenes to push Iraq’s leaders to select someone else. And Iran, which exerts enormous influence here, has signaled it would like to see new leadership. |
| Last week, several Iranian officials, including Ali Shamkhani, a top national security official, visited the holy city of Najaf, in southern Iraq, and conveyed to religious leaders that Iran would prefer that Mr. Maliki be replaced, according to a senior Shiite lawmaker in Baghdad. | |
| But even if Mr. Maliki were replaced, there is little sense that the Iraqi political class would be able to establish a new political bargain that could bring peace. “There’s no glue to hold whatever grandiose governing coalition that emerges together,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Iraq expert and fellow at the Atlantic Council. He added, “the idea that if Maliki should leave and then we’d be on the path of reconciliation and compromise is wishful thinking.” | But even if Mr. Maliki were replaced, there is little sense that the Iraqi political class would be able to establish a new political bargain that could bring peace. “There’s no glue to hold whatever grandiose governing coalition that emerges together,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Iraq expert and fellow at the Atlantic Council. He added, “the idea that if Maliki should leave and then we’d be on the path of reconciliation and compromise is wishful thinking.” |