In response to rising bloodshed in Iraq carried out by a resurgent al Qaeda, the editors of the Post think we must threaten to halt arms sales to Iraq to rein in Maliki:
The Obama administration has for too long offered nearly unqualified support to Mr. Maliki. Now it should tell him that continued U.S. military assistance, including the promised delivery of major weapons systems, will depend on whether the government drops legal charges against Sunni leaders and reaches agreement with Kurds on long-outstanding territorial and revenue-sharing disputes. The White House should also insist that Mr. Maliki act to rein in Shiite militia groups.
To get the fully nuanced approach to Iraq, the editors also think we must increase assistance to Iraq to fight al Qaeda:
At the same time, the White House should review whether it can offer Iraq’s armed forces additional support — in intelligence, training or materiel — to meet the growing threat from al-Qaeda. If they are not countered, Iraq’s extremist forces will sooner or later become a U.S. security problem.
At the same time! Apparently, the Iraqis won't mind fighting al Qaeda despite a decision by America to cut off arms sales to them.
Prime Minister Maliki isn't perfect. But he faces thugs within the Sunni Arab community who still think they should run Iraq as well as pro-Iran killers from his own Shia base--all while under pressure from a stronger Iran across the eastern border with a collapsing Syria on the other side. And restive Kurds. Cut him some slack.
And Maliki was chosen by Iraqis under Iraqi law to lead them. So let's not make the mistake of thinking that a different leader facing the same internal and external problems will solve our problems with Iraq. If Iraqis tire of Maliki, they can register their displeasure at the next election.
If we engineer a coup in Iraq--or implicitly encourage one by obviously making it known we'd welcome a coup--we are in no position to own Iraq and defend the results of that coup.
So get over this need to demonize Prime Minister Maliki as if his imperfect responses to Iraq's problems are more to blame for unrest than the actual Iraqi problems.
Personally, I think Maliki will do better when the threats he faces are reduced. So let's help him arm up to face Iran, help him defeat the jihadis, and help Iraqi institutions withstand the pressures of death squads and terrorists to keep running honest elections that leaders and ethnic and religious communities accept as valid expressions of the people.
