Issue is the lack of al-Maliki support for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
From the AP.
Iraqi Cabinet ministers allied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened Wednesday to quit the government to protest the prime minister's lack of support for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal, according to a statement.
Such a pullout by the very bloc that put Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in office could collapse his already perilously weak government. The threat comes two months into a U.S. effort to pacify Baghdad in order to give al-Maliki's government room to function.
Al-Sadr's political committee issued the statement a day after al-Maliki rejected an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.
"We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can," al-Maliki told reporters during his four-day trip to Japan, where he signed loan agreements for redevelopment projects in Iraq.
al-Maliki and Bush must be comparing notes on how to thwart the popular will for a U.S. withdrawal timetable in each of their respective countries. al-Maliki continues, explaining why his government doesn't need any stinking timetables.
To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process," he said, adding that "achievements on the ground" would dictate how long American troops remain.
Al-Maliki spoke a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, on al-Sadr's orders, to protest the U.S. presence in their country. The rally marked the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's conquer by American forces.
"The Sadrist movement strongly rejects the statements of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in which he stood by the continued presence of occupation forces despite the will of the Iraqi people," said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
"The Sadrist movement is studying the option of withdrawing from the Iraqi government — a government that has not fulfilled its promises to the people," it said.
"We are serious about withdrawing," it added.
AP had another report yesterday on how Iraq Shiites are not happy with where the US invasion has taken them, even if it has left them in charge.
Yet, the trappings of Shiite power can make the disappointment worse for Shiites who expected to reap benefits from Iraq's new politics.
Sami Kareem, 26, a clerk from Basra, says he is fed up.
"When the regime was toppled and our Shiite people came to power, we expected things to be much better," he said. "But nothing happened. Every one is fighting for power and money."
Another Shiite, Baghdad security guard Ali Hussein, said Shiite empowerment has done little to improve his life, and those of his wife and two children.
"We Shiites now want a government that realizes our dreams even if it's not Shiite. People are so frustrated that some are even saying that Shiites cannot rule," he said.
Who will yield to the popular will for a US withdrawal timetable first? Bush or al-Maliki? Maliki's hold on power is precarious with a even Shiites dissatisfied. Bush is in for 650 more days (barring impeachment). Maliki might have to inform Bush that he will start having to use the dreaded T-word in order to stay in power. An aggressive move for formal peace negotiations between Sunni and Shiite should be tied in with our withdrawal timetable.