IRAQ DEADLOCK

By Monitor IF it were not such a serious matter, it would be rather amusing to observe the prime minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, lecturing the American ambassador in Baghdad on democratic principles. Earlier this week Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad let it be known that President Bush would prefer someone other than Mr al-Jaafari as prime minister. In response Mr al-Jaafari said that “The Iraqi people want to ensure that these reactions stay in a positive frame and do not cross over into interference that damages the results of the democratic process.” One of the reasons that the Americans do not like Mr al-Jaafari is that he is making such slow progress on forming a government; it is now three months since the parliamentary elections. Another, perhaps more important, reason is that he has allied himself with the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr whose Maadi Army militia numbers thousands and has been responsible for the killing of hundreds of Sunnis in recent weeks. Despite President Bush's optimistic talk about the growing strength of Iraq's security services, the loyalty of many of their members is first to their religious allegiance and only second, if at all, to the national interest. The main Kurdish, Sunni Arab and secular groups in the parliament oppose Mr al-Jaafari's premiership and their hostility towards him is impeding progress towards the government of national unity so longed-for by British and American ministers. But he remains unpeturbed.