Petrel Resources - moderated discussion/research part II
simon self - Thu, 28 Dec 06 :
The HCL hasn`t a cat`s hope in hell of getting on the statute book under the present government. Iraq is in the grip of civil war.
I cannot see the cabinet agreeing the HCL law until a new government is elected.
There could be another election as early as mid 2007!!!
PET may not get paid for the present contract if this government fails!!
Mideast Dispatches
28/12/2006
Most Iraqis see no future for Maliki's struggling government, which barely controls the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad where its offices are located. The rest of the country is fragmented, and the economy and infrastructure are in ruins.
"They are going down despite the huge support they are getting from the U.S. administration," Iraqi analyst Maki al-Nazzal told IPS. "They are faced by an international denial after their resounding failure in facing the deteriorating security situation and the comprehensive collapse in services and reconstruction."
On the other hand, the Sadr movement finds itself in a strong enough situation to turn away from al-Maliki and his Dawa Party. Sadr leaders are now calling for early elections, and they are confident of winning without other support, says their spokesman Hassan al-Zarqani.
"It seems that the United States have chosen the wrong ally once more," Zarqani told IPS. "So they will have to reconsider yet again." Sadr had recently pulled his representatives from the government, but they came back.
Meanwhile, another crisis has arisen. Grand Ayatollah Sistani announced last week that he will not support a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines. The plan would have sought to marginalise Muqtada al-Sadr by dividing the Shias.
Resistance to the occupation is rising, on the streets and politically, as support for the government falls. Not a promising start to 2007.
