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Pressure mounts on shiite primer minister to step aside { April 5 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/04/05/pressure_mounts_on_iraqs_interim_leader_to_step_aside/ http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/04/05/pressure_mounts_on_iraqs_interim_leader_to_step_aside/ Pressure mounts on Iraq's interim leader to step aside Change could halt slide to civil war, senior Shi'ite says By Associated Press | April 5, 2006 BAGHDAD -- Iraq's Shi'ite vice president joined calls yesterday for the country's embattled Shi'ite prime minister to step aside so a new government can be formed. Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi became the most senior Shi'ite official publicly to endorse demands for a leadership change to halt the slide toward civil war. He told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he met with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Monday and urged him to give up the nomination for a second term because he had lost the confidence of the Sunnis and Kurds. But Abdul-Mahdi said Jaafari refused, insisting he wanted to take his case to parliament, which must approve the new prime minister and his Cabinet. Asked whether Jaafari should withdraw his nomination, Abdul-Mahdi said: ''Yes, after such a time of naming him, not getting approval from others now in UIA, there is some rejection so I think he should step aside." The United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) is the dominant Shi'ite political bloc. Abdul-Mahdi lost the prime minister nomination to Jaafari in February by a single vote at a caucus of the Shi'ite bloc, which won the most seats in parliamentary elections last December. Jaafari squeaked through largely because he had the support of the powerful anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Abdul-Mahdi's comment followed the visit of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who warned the Iraqis that their key allies were losing patience with the political stalemate. US officials have been urging the Iraqis to form a new national unity government of Shi'ites, Sunnis, and Kurds as a first step toward restoring public confidence and halting the country's slide toward anarchy. The talks have stalled over the demands that Jaafari be replaced. President Bush urged the Iraqis yesterday to speed up the talks, calling on elected leaders ''to stand up and do their job." Critics blame Jaafari for failing to restore order and for the rise in sectarian tensions. His main critics have been Sunnis and Kurds, but last weekend two other prominent Shi'ite politicians also called for him to step aside as the nominee. However, Shi'ite officials fear that replacing him might splinter their alliance, and a Kurdish politician who opposes Jaafari said he was concerned that international pressure to remove him might trigger a backlash among Iraqis angry over foreign influence. Yesterday, about 2,500 people marched in support of Jaafari in Baghdad's Sadr City district, carrying banners saying ''Down with the Conspiracy" against their candidate. Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded yesterday in a mostly Shi'ite area of eastern Baghdad, killing at least 10 people. The bomb went off in the poor, mostly Shi'ite area of Habibiyah and damaged several cars and nearby sandwich stands, police said. Chaos ensued as militants from radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia fired weapons in the air to clear the crowds. At least a dozen other Iraqis were killed yesterday in war-related violence in Baghdad and central Iraq, police said. © Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

Iraq swears in new government { May 20 2006 } Pressure mounts on shiite primer minister to step aside { April 5 2006 } Files Listed: 2

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