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Maliki Calls Summit to Heal Iraqi Cabinet

PM threatens to replace Sunnis with "alternative" ministers

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 12, 2007 4:27 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Iraq’s PM says he will try to salvage his disintegrating government by holding an emergency summit of cabinet members over the next couple of days. The BBC reports that Nouri al-Maliki is even warning Sunnis that he could refill his government with “alternative” ministers if they refuse to join. Sunnis accuse al-Maliki of having close ties with Iran, which has started "an unprecedented genocide campaign” in Iraq. 

Still smarting from the walkout of five more ministers last week, Maliki has been unable to heal the sectarian rifts ravaging his country and its struggling government. He says that the meeting will happen over the next couple of days and will include a senior Kurdish leader to help negotiate with Sunnis about re-entering the fractured cabinet.

Khalif Alyan, a senior member of Iraqi Accordance Front Party, center, speaks between Iraq's Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, right, and Adnan al-Dulaimi, left, at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 25, 2007 with other members of the party. Iraq's largest Sunni Arab bloc said Wednesday it has suspended...
Khalif Alyan, a senior member of Iraqi Accordance Front Party, center, speaks between Iraq's Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi, right, and Adnan al-Dulaimi, left, at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq,...   (Associated Press)
Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, the Iraqi Accordance Front, holds the remnants of mortars as he speaks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. The influential Sunni leader issued an impassioned appeal for help from Arab countries against what he called...
Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, the Iraqi Accordance Front, holds the remnants of mortars as he speaks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. The...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi Prime Miniseter Nouri al-Maliki, attends a joint press conference with Iranian Vice-President Parviz Davoudi, unseen, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Tehran and Baghdad share a heavy responsibility in establishing peace and security in the region, the...
Iraqi Prime Miniseter Nouri al-Maliki, attends a joint press conference with Iranian Vice-President Parviz Davoudi, unseen, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks to the media during a press conference in the heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Maliki last week made his second trip to Iran since taking office in what many critics claimed was proof of Tehran's influence over...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks to the media during a press conference in the heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Maliki last week made his second trip...   (Associated Press)
Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, the Iraqi Accordance Front, speaks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. The influential Sunni leader issued an impassioned appeal for help from Arab countries against what he called Iranian-supported death squads and militias in the latest...
Adnan al-Dulaimi, the leader of the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, the Iraqi Accordance Front, speaks to reporters in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. The influential Sunni leader issued an impassioned...   (Associated Press)
Adnan al-Dulaimi, a leader of the Accordance Front Party, center, Alaa Makki, left, and Khalif Alyan, right, appear at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Iraq's largest Sunni Arab bloc said Wednesday it has suspended its membership in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition government, dealing a...
Adnan al-Dulaimi, a leader of the Accordance Front Party, center, Alaa Makki, left, and Khalif Alyan, right, appear at a news conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Iraq's largest Sunni...   (Associated Press)
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