Prospects for Iraq's new government

12-23-2010 08:53 BJT

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Iraqi lawmakers have unanimously approved a new government to be headed by incumbent Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The new government will have to address enormous and pressing challenges, including rebuilding of the country, sectarian tensions, and the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's new government solidifies the grip that Shiites have held on political power since Saddam Hussein's ouster.

It leaves open the question of whether the country's disgruntled Sunni minority will play a meaningful role.

Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, strongly backed by the Sunnis, says his Iraqiya bloc will support the government and play a constructive role in it.

But Allawi is still waiting for the post of head of the National Council of Strategic Policies, which is supposed to play a major role in national security issues according to the power-sharing deals.

And how much power Maliki will really give the new body is still uncertain.

The coalition must address enormous and pressing challenges. They include the heavy cost of rebuilding from devastation caused by seven years of war, lingering sectarian tensions, and the withdrawal of American troops, scheduled for the end of next year.

Neither Obama nor al-Maliki has shown any enthusiasm for keeping US soldiers in Iraq.

More than 44-hundred American troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis died in a war that has yet to bring stability and prosperity to the oil-rich nation.

Sandwiched between Shiite majority Iran and Sunni Arab states, Iraq is a Mideast fault line for sectarian tensions.

Experts say Iraq's top priority over the next few years is to control its vacillating levels of violence and protect itself from foreign threats.