Shiite power struggle in Iraq threatens prime minister’s overhaul of Government
A struggle among Iraq’s rival Shiite power-brokers poses a threat to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s ambitious government overhaul, Iraqi and Western officials said. The power struggle, which involves Iran-backed militias, had paralyzed Mr. Abadi and prompted a rare intervention by the top Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He endorsed Mr. Abadi’s overhaul plan, […]Nour Malas writes for the Wall Street Journal:
A struggle among Iraq’s rival Shiite power-brokers poses a threat to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s ambitious government overhaul, Iraqi and Western officials said.
The power struggle, which involves Iran-backed militias, had paralyzed Mr. Abadi and prompted a rare intervention by the top Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He endorsed Mr. Abadi’s overhaul plan, which was intended in part to defuse the challenge to the government, Iraqi officials said. Mr. Sistani’s support has, at least for now, tamped down the surging tensions among Shiite groups and rallied Iraqis broadly behind Mr. Abadi’s plan.
