Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan
Parties in the coordination framework are exchanging accusations about one party’s “expansion” over the shares of the other, taking advantage of its relationship with Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani.
The latter is accused by most of the forces of the Shiite coalition of “shining his party” in preparation for early local or legislative elections, if they take place.
During the past few days, tweeters close to armed factions began attacking Al-Sudani because of the dollar and media network crises.
The tweeters, known for defending the prime minister, suddenly criticized the latter’s decisions to keep the governor of the Central Bank, Mustafa Ghaleb, and to prevent the dismissal of the head of the media network, Nabil Jassem.
And the day before yesterday, in what appeared to be a continuation of the policy of pressure against Al-Sudani, deputies from the coordination framework announced the collection of signatures to interrogate Ghaleb, amid possible attempts to dismiss him.
The story of the dismissal of the bank governor is due to the anger of some of the “framework” parties over the continuation of those affiliated with the Sadrist movement in important positions, and the former is believed to be supported by the movement.
Last month, Nuri al-Maliki publicly criticized the prime minister for retracting his decision to sack the governors of Dhi Qar and Najaf, who are affiliated with the Sadrists.
The other reason for the attempts to dismiss Mustafa Ghaleb, according to informed sources, is an attempt to calm the street due to the crisis of the high exchange rate of the dollar.
The coordination framework is afraid of admitting to the public that it agrees with the policy of the US Federal Bank, according to what a Shiite politician familiar with monitoring some banks that smuggle dollars to Iran told Al-Mada.
According to the Shiite politician, who asked not to be named, “The escalation against the advisory and training presence of the US forces is because some parties were affected by the dollar not reaching Tehran.”
Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organization, demanded last week the “immediate” withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
Al-Amiri and Qais al-Khazali, the leader of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, previously considered the dollar’s rise as a “plot to control Iraq” and an “economic war.”
This escalation coincided with news of an upcoming visit by the prime minister to Washington, before platforms on “Telegram” attacked the latter’s statements regarding the presence of US forces in Iraq.
And Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced that he will lead a high-ranking Iraqi delegation to visit the United States on the eighth of next February.
Hussein said, in press statements, that the delegation, which includes economic officials and the Central Bank, will hold meetings with senior US officials in Washington, to discuss the issue of the dinar and the dollar, and the economic relations between the two countries.
Platforms close to armed factions had previously published an excerpt from an interview that the Prime Minister held with a German station during the latter’s visit to Berlin, in which he described the United States and the European Union as friendly countries.
Those sites merged the latest video clip with pictures of the assassination of the deputy head of the crowd, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and the prominent Iranian general, Qassem Suleimani, commenting: “This is how our friends did to us.”
Al-Sudani had mentioned in the television interview that he had “obtained authorization from the political forces to negotiate the US presence in Iraq and define their tasks for training, providing advice and security support.”
Al-Sudani added that the tasks provided by the US forces are “required so that we can continue to pursue the terrorist organization ISIS and ensure security and stability in the country.”
And the Prime Minister affirmed that he “accepts the American presence, with the support of the political forces, provided that their tasks and places of residence are determined,” noting that these demands “face acceptance by our American friends and in the European Union.”
Al-Sudani’s recent statements were widely circulated during the past two days, along with his statements about naming the “Arab Gulf states a reality” in response to Iran’s refusal to name the “Arab” Gulf instead of the “Persian”.
Last Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdul-Amir Allahian announced the summoning of the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran in protest against the use of a name the foreign ministry described as “falsified” in the Arab Gulf Championship currently being held in Basra.
Abd Allahian indicated that the Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani corrected this issue (this error) in an article recently published on the virtual space.
The well-informed Shiite politician says, “The factions’ escalation against the United States occurs whenever there is a crisis over important positions.”
And the politician adds, “Some factions are pressing for more jobs, especially those related to sensitive security positions.”
And the politician indicates that “the state of law finds itself the biggest loser in the equation of distributing positions, and believes that the Sudanese is carrying out what Asa’ib wants.”
Last January, whispering began between the two parties, before Khazali visited al-Maliki at his home to prevent any rumors about his opponents.
The well-informed politician confirms that: “Al-Sudani himself is being criticized by the coordination framework, which considers some of its decisions, especially those related to raising the mobile tax and hiring contractors and holders of certificates, as early promotion for elections.”
Shiite parties are leaking that the prime minister is expanding the offices of his party, the “Euphrates Stream,” in the provinces, and is placing a number of employees affiliated with his party in important positions.
As a result of the division within the coordination framework, news circulated again about the readiness of the three Maliki ministers in the government to submit their resignations due to interference from Asa’ib in the work of those ministries.
A leader in one of the parties affiliated with the “framework” considered in an interview with (Al-Mada) that: “Al-Sudani is closer to Khazali than to Al-Maliki, but this does not mean that the latter will implement what Al-Asa’ib demands.”
The leader confirmed that: “Al-Asa’ib was the first to suggest the name of Muhammad al-Sudani to head the new government, although the latter was one of the leaders of the State of Law.”
The leader, who asked not to be identified, described the differences as “exaggeration and rumors that the Sadrist movement is promoting to thwart the government and try to influence the unity of the coordination framework.”
The accusations of the leader in the “framework” came after the Sadrist movement returned to the public scene and organized the first unified Friday prayer (last Friday) in the Sudanese government.
Although the sermon did not carry a political aspect, the movement used to preface it before engaging in any political event with unified prayer, which is considered as a means of communication between it and its audience.
Meanwhile, a leader in the Dawa Party considered talking about differences between the State of Law and Asa’ib “exaggerated.”
The leader of the party, Jassem Muhammad Jaafar, said in an interview with (Al-Mada) that “disagreements are normal, such as what happens between the State of Law and the Badr Organization, the Wisdom Movement, or the Victory Coalition.”
Jaafar, a former youth minister, rejected what he described as “focusing on what is going on within the coordination framework and ignoring the Sunni and Kurdish differences.”
The former minister stressed that “Muhammad al-Halbousi faces a real danger of the possibility of his dismissal from the Sunni forces, so he works cautiously in the House of Representatives and does not put pressure on the blocs on important issues such as distributing the chairmanship of committees.”
Jaafar denied the news regarding the presentation or readiness of the ministers of the State of Law to submit their resignation due to interference by the League in the work of those ministries, as reported recently.
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