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Iraqi Minister, Accused of Murder, Flees to Green Zone
To excavate the depths of tragedy in Iraq, try this on for size: the attempted arrest of a minister accused of murdering another parliamentarian's sons is sparking the latest deterioration in sectarian relations. And the parliamentarian fears the Bush administration is helping the minister escape arrest in order to prevent the Maliki government from imploding.
Today the largest Sunni bloc in the Iraqi parliament, the Accordance Front, said that it was withdrawing its cabinet ministers -- including Iraq's defense minister -- to protest the attempted arrest of the outgoing culture minister, Asad Kamal al-Hashimi, an Accordance Front member. On Monday, Iraqi security forces executed a warrant issued by an Iraqi judge for Hashimi, who is wanted for the 2005 murder of the adult sons of Mithal al-Alusi, one of Iraq's most prominent secular, liberal politicians. Escaping a raid on his home, Hashimi fled to the al-Rashid hotel in the Green Zone, while his party blamed PM Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, of unfair treatment. (Maliki says he had nothing to do with the raid.)
Alusi, for his part, thinks the fix is in -- not from Maliki, but from President Bush. From Alusi's perspective, as long as Hashimi is in the Green Zone, he's under tacit U.S. protection. The secular Alusi, himself a Sunni, told the New York Sun's Eli Lake that he's petitioning the U.S. embassy to assist in the execution of the warrant. If the U.S. doesn't get involved, Alusi thinks, there's no way that Hashimi will ever face what passes for justice in the Iraqi legal system.
Mr. Alusi said he is worried that as time passes and Mr. Hashemi remains in al-Rashid Hotel he will find a way out of the Green Zone to flee the country. This scenario was floated by the head of Mr. Hashemi's party, Adnan al-Dulaimi, on the American funded Radio Sawa on Wednesday. "If we move now, we will have him," Mr. Alusi said. "But if we lose time, he could flee the country. I am more afraid he will leave the Green Zone. I believe his people would kill him to close the file. Everyone will say the Shia have done it, or Alusi will do it. He is dangerous to them because of what he knows."
Ambassador Ryan Crocker has refused to get involved, nor is he the only one. Lake reported yesterday that the Pentagon overturned an order allowing U.S. troops to assist Iraqi forces in raiding Hashimi's home.
It's clear that Alusi's concerns are minor ones to the U.S., the Accordance Front, and Maliki. The Maliki government has taken numerous hits lately: from Sunnis for being sectarian; from Moqtada al-Sadr for being an American stooge and an incompetent; and most recently from Crocker for being an inept Shiite chauvinist. A new explosion of Sunni fury is the last thing he needs, so it's not out of the question for Maliki to preemptively pardon Hashimi or otherwise intercede on Hashimi's behalf.
Alusi commands few votes in parliament, and has a much smaller constituency than the Accordance Front. All he has is the memory of his sons, Ayman and Jamal. And caught between Iraq's sectarian politics and a U.S. struggling to keep the political process alive, he's not likely to get anything more -- like justice.
Comments (13)
The Confidence Man wrote on June 29, 2007 5:58 PM:Sectarian politics infesting the application of justice?!?
Has anyone told Rove about this?
nunya wrote on June 29, 2007 6:21 PM:are you guys deliberately pulling a Fox move with the picture of Maliki? yes, he's in the story, but the headline is about a minister accused of murder, not the man whose picture you've posted. tsk tsk, if so.
On the Clock wrote on June 29, 2007 7:03 PM:Slim Pickens said it best: "What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?!"
RandyR wrote on June 29, 2007 7:59 PM:For a copy of the Iraqi Hydrocarbon Law write me at:
randyiraqioil@yahoo.com
uncle vester wrote on June 29, 2007 9:40 PM:I, for one, am just deliriously overjoyed at all the wonderful, wonderful progress we're making in Iraq!
Are we there yet?
Seriously, though, I second nunya's post above; after reading a bit I was reminded of the John Conyers footage on Fox as they announced Jefferson's indictment. Post a pic of the alleged malefactor in question, please, for accuracy's sake.
Robin Boerner wrote on June 29, 2007 10:25 PM:I wonder if the Great Decider really thinks in his mind:
"That went well"
johnnydoughey wrote on June 29, 2007 10:42 PM:I don't recall if Hashimi is an attorney, but if he is, I believe he would fit right in with Gonzales' team. I understand they are needing more lawyers who will support Bush's dictates- and this guy will probably support anyone who might get him out of this jam... a perfect appointee!
eugene debs wrote on June 30, 2007 9:57 AM:interesting survey:
http://www.positivepress.com/president/survey.cgi
Richard L. Adlof wrote on July 1, 2007 12:05 PM:The majority of the Iraqi government shuns having their picture taken becuase they are evading death . . . The folk other than the Iraqi PM are invisible. Additionally, photos w/ credits cost money and public domain shots tend to be either stale or inexact. While a map of Bagdad or Iraq may have been just as good as Maliki in I.D.ing the subject . . . Maliki is the sole public face of Iraq.
Either way, start plorking down a quarter to read or stop k'vetching about the picts . . . Both of which sound like a Republican Congressperson trying to avoid a vote for a minimum wage hike.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on July 1, 2007 12:12 PM:The majority of the Iraqi government shuns having their picture taken becuase they are evading death . . . The folk other than the Iraqi PM are invisible. Additionally, photos w/ credits cost money and public domain shots tend to be either stale or inexact. While a map of Bagdad or Iraq may have been just as good as Maliki in I.D.ing the subject . . . Maliki is the sole public face of Iraq.
Either way, start plorking down a quarter to read or stop k'vetching about the picts . . . Both of which sound like a Republican Congressperson trying to avoid a vote for a minimum wage hike.
gussmith wrote on July 1, 2007 1:42 PM:I take great umbrage to the picture of al-Malaki being posted while the story is about a different cabinet official. Such poor journalism causes untold damage but mainly to the source, in the case TPMmuckraker. The picture has been up for over a day, plenty of time to correct your poor judgment.
An Outhouse wrote on July 1, 2007 7:55 PM:The poor judgment demonstrated here makes the invasion of Iraq seem brilliant.
Anonymous wrote on July 1, 2007 10:36 PM:Maybe the DNC can explain why they are not cutting the budget for US troops. The President and Senate has no power to compel the House to put any money in any budget.
This is possible, but the DNC does the opposite. GIve me a good explanation why the DNC continues with what the GOP started: Rubber stamping.
http://johnconyers.com/node/140#comment-4987
If the GOP wants to block a conference committee, the President gets no money. Why is the DNC rubber stamping? The DNC could assert its power in the House and refuse to cooperate.
Does anyone have a good explanation why this COngressional power is not asserted? Even if there is anillegal law on the books, Congress could zero-out all funding for that: Such as the MCA, or the Habeas Corpus-vilations.
The GOP and the President have no power to copmel the House to put money against illegal statutes which contradict the Constitution. Who is going to give the public a credible explanation why the DNC is not asserting the power it has?
It's an illusion that there would be a "backlash" against the DNC: If there was a possible "backlash" the GOP would be pushing for the very thing it could blame on the DNC. And the GOP would never openly make a recommendation of any value to the DNC. Time for the DNC leadership to start leading, and stop reactding as if it were obliged to continue with the GOP non-sense.