Pompeo: US welcomes ‘consensus’ on Iraq government formation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, welcomed the apparent political consensus around Iraq’s new Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who has been tasked with forming a new government. 

“The United States looks forward to the formation of a new Iraqi Government capable of confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, ameliorating the country’s current economic distress, and bringing arms under state control,” Pompeo said in a statement.

“We welcome that Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish political leaders seem to have arrived at a consensus on government formation, and hope the new government puts Iraq’s interests first and meets the needs of the Iraqi people,” he said.

Iraq’s slow recovery from the recent Islamic State (ISIS) conflict has been blunted by a protracted political crisis sparked by mass protests against unemployment, corruption, and the lack of basic services. 

The crisis has been further compounded in recent weeks by the collapse of world oil prices – Baghdad’s main source of revenue – and the outbreak of coronavirus, which has brought normal life to a standstill. 

It also comes against a backdrop of tensions between the US and Iran – Iraq’s two main foreign allies – which came close to all-out war in January following the US assassination of Iranian General Qasim Soleimani near Baghdad airport. 

Iran retaliated days later with a barrage of missiles targeted Iraq bases hosting US troops. 

“The Iraqi people demand genuine reform and trustworthy leaders,” Pompeo said in Monday’s statement. 

“These demands deserve to be addressed without violence or suppression. We stand with Iraqi people as they seek a sovereign, prosperous Iraq, free of corruption and terror,” he added. 

The US has already begun drawing down its presence in Iraq, withdrawing from six Iraqi bases in recent weeks and consolidating its positions. 

This has come largely in response to successes in the campaign against ISIS remnants, but also to protect personnel from the coronavirus outbreak and the spate of rocket attacks launched by pro-Iran militias against US infrastructure. 

Any government Kadhimi pulls together will be under pressure by Shiite blocs to expel US forces from Iraq as soon as possible. 

Hopes are high in Baghdad that Kadhimi can succeed where others have failed in forming a new government. 

Iraq has not had a fully-functioning government since December, when mass protests forced then-Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to resign, after just a year in office. 

Since then, Shiite parties have wrangled over who should replace him and form the next Iraqi cabinet.

In his first televised address to the nation, Kadhimi said the cabinet he appoints will be one “of service – relying not on words, but on action.” 

Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, a former communications minister, and Adnan al-Zurfi, the three-term Najaf governor and Nasr parliamentary bloc leader, both failed to garner enough support in the Iraqi parliament.

US officials had welcomed Zurfi’s appointment, while several pro-Iran factions in Baghdad outright rejected him.

Both were also rejected by Iraq’s young protesters as members of the same tired establishment they hope to overthrow.

With no mandate to draft a budget, and now wrestling with the twin threats of coronavirus and falling world oil prices, Abdul-Mahdi has continued to soldier on as caretaker prime minister.

However, for the first time since December 2019, all of Iraq’s Shiite political parties appear to have agreed on a candidate. Both the US and Iran also seem to have given Kadhimi their blessing. 

With consensus apparently emerging, a Kadhimi-led government is now a strong possibility, dragging Baghdad out of the political mire.

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