http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/world/middleeast/maliki-seems-to-back-away-from-using-military-force-to-retain-power.html

AUG. 12, 2014

Maliki's Bid to Keep Power in Iraq Seems to Collapse

By TIM ARANGO

BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's defiant fight to retain power in Iraq appeared to collapse on Tuesday after his former backers in Iran, the military and his own party all signaled that he could no longer expect their support.

He issued a statement saying that the security forces, which he had deployed around the capital on Monday in what some took to be preparations for a coup, should stay out of politics. And the conversation in Baghdad shifted to how he would leave office and on what terms.

The shift came after Mr. Maliki made several last-ditch efforts to shore up support, only to be confronted late Monday night with delegations of officials, all pleading with him to back down for the good of the country.

The next morning, an important Iraqi Army general in Baghdad reached out to Iraq's new president, Fuad Masum, and the man he nominated to be the next prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, and delivered the message that the military would not stand by Mr. Maliki, according to a senior Iraqi official.

Hours later, Mr. Maliki's office released a statement that reflected both the growing opposition to him and the reality that the military probably would not back him anyway, if he tried to mount a coup: "Prime Minister Maliki urges commanders, officers and individuals to stay away from the political crisis and to commit to their military and security duties and tasks to protect the country, and not to intervene in this crisis. Leave this issue to the people, politicians and justice."

Iran, a longtime supporter of Mr. Maliki's, also lent its weight on Tuesday to the constitutional process of replacing him with Mr. Abadi, adding pressure on Mr. Maliki to retreat from his threats. The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, congratulated Mr. Abadi during a meeting of Iranian ambassadors, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also voiced its support for Mr. Abadi, saying in a statement, according to the Tasnim News Agency, "The Islamic Republic of Iran supports all the steps taken in line with completing the political process in Iraq."

Some Iraqis said privately that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's influential Shiite cleric, also played an important role in orchestrating Mr. Maliki's retreat, dispatching emissaries to Iran and successfully seeking the government's cooperation in pressuring Mr. Maliki.  

Ayatollah Sistani was known to have been increasingly vexed over the political paralysis in Baghdad as militants with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, were gaining ground.

The Obama administration, which has deployed United States warplanes to help the Iraqi government battle a marauding force of Sunni militants in northern and western Iraq, has been pressing Mr. Maliki to move aside. President Obama and his top aide congratulated Mr. Abadi on Monday and exhorted him to quickly form an inclusive government that would depart from Mr. Maliki's polarizing policies, which have alienated many in the Sunni and Kurd minorities.

Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the United States would consider expanding military and political support for Iraq if Mr. Abadi assumed the duties of prime minister and formed a more inclusive government.

With so many forces now arrayed against Mr. Maliki, the discussion on Tuesday turned to what are believed to be his demands in return for stepping down: assurances that he will not be prosecuted and that his physical safety will be safeguarded.

According to senior lawmakers, discussions have centered on offering Mr. Maliki the position of vice president, a ceremonial post that would come with immunities and a security detail and would allow him to remain in palatial government housing inside the fortified Green Zone.

As an alternative, Iraqi officials have also begun quietly raising the question of whether Mr. Maliki should leave the country, and where he might go, according to a senior official.

Mr. Abadi, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki's own Shiite Islamist Dawa Party, moved to mollify Mr. Maliki on Monday, urging him to join the process of government formation. However, Mr. Abadi pointedly referred to Mr. Maliki as the "outgoing" prime minister, even though Mr. Maliki remains Iraq's leader, and commander in chief, until Mr. Abadi forms a new government. He has 30 days to do so under the Constitution.

In a statement, Mr. Abadi said that Mr. Maliki was "a brother and companion and he will remain so."

"He is a central partner in politics in Iraq," he continued.

Mr. Abadi also praised the security forces, which was seen as an effort to reassure military officers who may feel they owe their positions to Mr. Maliki and are worried about losing their jobs under new leadership.

The quickly shifting messages -- from a possible military coup one day, followed by late-night meetings and subtle public statements that carry deeper meanings the next -- were particularly emblematic of Iraqi political gamesmanship.

"This is how it works in Iraq," said Kenneth M. Pollack, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The message from Mr. Abadi to Mr. Maliki was, he said, "exactly what you'd expect: He's reassuring Maliki, 'I will not throw you to the wolves.' "

One Shiite leader, who spoke anonymously about the confidential negotiations, said Mr. Maliki was "calm now and realizes that all his friends left him and joined the other camp."

"If Maliki accepts backing Abadi," he added, "and wants to be part of the team that forms the government, this will be his way to save face and keep his prestige as a top Shiite leader."

Adding to the pressure on Mr. Maliki, two important Shiite militias that are tied to political parties and aligned with Iran -- forces that some had worried would fight on Mr. Maliki's behalf if he insisted on remaining in power -- indicated that they were on the side of the national government.

One of them, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, issued a statement on Monday saying that it supported Mr. Abadi and would not "split" from the Shiite alliance that is backing him. The Badr Corps, another important militia close to Iran, did not release a statement, but one of its political leaders did, saying in one published on the website of the Sumaria news agency that Badr would stand by Mr. Abadi.

Violence is deeply intertwined with Iraqi politics, and in the evening a car bomb exploded near Mr. Abadi's family home -- he himself lives mainly in the Green Zone -- in a busy central district of Baghdad, killing 13 people and wounding 27 more, according to a security official. The neighborhood, Karada, is frequently targeted with bombs, but the attack immediately raised suspicions that the explosion was a message to Mr. Abadi.

"They targeted Abadi's house because he took the power from Maliki," said Raad Mahmoud, who sells roasted chicken at a street kiosk near the bombing site, and lost several friends in the attack. "We haven't gotten anything from Maliki except destruction, sectarian violence and murders."

Once security forces and rescue crews arrived at the site, angry residents attacked them with pipes and rocks, taunting them by accusing them of corruption -- many here believe that officers accept payments to allow car bombers through checkpoints -- and voicing anger at Mr. Maliki.

"Maliki has done this on purpose!" one person yelled.

As the events unfolded, something ominous happened: Some police officers removed their uniforms and ran away. The scene evoked the mass desertion of the Iraqi soldiers in the north of the country, in June, when many ditched their uniforms and fled in the face of ISIS militants.

Many expect Mr. Maliki to work behind the scenes to sabotage Mr. Abadi's efforts to form a new government. If Mr. Abadi fails, the process would start again, and the president would choose another nominee.

"This month he will use every trick to block the formation of the government," said a senior Iraqi official, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the political crisis.

Mr. Maliki's bloc won the most seats in April's national election, and Mr. Maliki personally won more votes than any other politician. But since then, he has lost much of his support among the Shiite leadership class.

He has also lost a great deal of support among ordinary Iraqis, many of whom were gleeful on Tuesday at Mr. Maliki's apparent downfall, and many of them credited the United States with engineering his ouster.

One of them was Mwafaq Ali, a tailor in Baghdad who used to make Mr. Maliki's suits. In the early years of his premiership, Mr. Maliki still visited Mr. Ali's shop in the city. Then Mr. Ali would visit Mr. Maliki in his palace in the Green Zone.

Then, starting in 2012, Mr. Maliki started buying his suits from Italy, Mr. Ali said.

"I think Abadi is the right choice for the country," Mr. Ali said. "This next phase will be better. The United States realized that Iraq was moving to the abyss."

Reporting was contributed by Suadad al-Salhy, Omar al-Jawoshy, Falih Hassan and Ali Hamza from Baghdad; Thomas Erdbrink from Tehran; Michael R. Gordon from Sydney, Australia; Alan Cowell from London; and Rick Gladstone from New York.