A week of politics in Iraq

It must have been a fascinating week for politics in Iraq… Wish I were there! I guess everyone’s still dealing with the fallout from Sistani’s dramatic return last week, and tryng to figure out the new parameters of the political game.
That was kind of an embarrassing step-back by Allawi on Tuesday or so when he said, “Oops, sorry, I can’t make a deal over Sadr City because the Americans won’t let me.”
Well, those weren’t exactly his words. But that sure as heck was the gist of the thing. Anyway, Allawi’s been continuing to try to project himself as a master political manipulator, out there fine-tuning deals with tribal leaders here or there…. Let’s see what comes of it all, eh?
Which reminds me: there’s been a noticeable change of style with Negropontra in charge there now in place of Bremer, hasn’t there? You never hear of Negropontra making those kind of showy public gestures that Bremer used to make. Of course, that’s not to say that he’s not just as active–perhaps even more so!–behind the scenes. But he’s smart enough not to grandstand publicly while doing it.
And then– Chalabi’s back in the game, too. Whoa. This Iraqi politics business moves extraordinarily fast. How did that happen, I wonder? Was it that, (1) Sistani insisted Chala be let back into the game, or (2) that Chala bought his way back in? A bit of both, I suspect.
Anyway, since Juan Cole’s been paying quite a lot of attention elsewhere this week, I thought I’d run quickly through the three available issues of the Institute on War and Peace Reporting’s Iraqi Press Monitor to glean some more info about what’s been happening there this week that you might not have read about elsewhere.
Mainly to bring myself up to speed, since I’ve been writing about South Africa all week. But also, to share with y’all. Here it is, then:

(There was no Press Monitor on Monday.)
On Tuesday we had these:

Sadr to join political process
(in Al-Nahdhah, a daily newspaper issued by Adnan al-Pachachi)– Muqtada al-Sdar yesterday called upon his supporters to stop fighting all over the country and join the political process with the aim of conducting elections and forming an elected government. Police Colonel Maroof al-Lami said the government stipulated that Muqtada’s militia be disarmed and stop fighting in Sadr city. Lami added that National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaiai sent a letter to Sadr’s office including ten articles to end the fight. “Disagreement centres on the last article of disarming,” said Lami. The letter calls for a “seven-day truce, stop arresting militia elements, not targeting coalition camps, not kidnapping translators, Iraqi army and National Guard elements, reconstructing the city, and compensating victims. The Americans can enter the city only for reconstruction,” Lami concluded.

Well, that was before Allawi stepped in and said that the US disagreement had nixed the whole plan…
Then this:

De-Baathification back on agenda
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed, independent daily)– Al-Sabah al-Jadeed obtained information that the government would draft a new law for the National Board of de-Baathification allowing prosecution of Baathists accused of crimes. The government’s aim is to help Baathists merge into the new society. It is mentioned that the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority cancelled the former Board, leaving the Iraqi government to form a new one. The Board’s Deputy Chairman Mithal al-Aloosi denied it was cancelled. He pointed out that it was under pressure, and that its 300 employees had been cut down to 50. The Judicial Council also denied cancelling the Board.

Sounds like de-Baathification is in a bit of a muddle, to say the least. The whole project is, of course, intensely political… And this, at a time when Allawi’s trying to rehab so many former Baathists into virtually their exact former roles…
And this:

Sistani warns Sadr
(Al-Mashriq; no really helpful details about it)– Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani warned the Iraqi government and Muqtada al-Sadr that he would condemn any party that violates the “Najaf peace agreement”. He also reassured Muqtada that there was no “Shia plan” to destroy his current if they laid their weapons. Meanwhile, sources said three major issues had not been settled: how the al-Mahdi army will be disarmed, share of Sadr’s current in the constitution of the political process, and treatment of the arrest warrant against Muqtada for charge of assassinating clergyman Abdul Majeed al-Khoei.

On Wednesday, we had these items:

New gun licences for old
(Al-Mashriq)– The Ministry of Interior has established a new office to deal with the issuance of new conditions for possessing weapons by civilians. The office will follow a new mechanism of licensing people to possess weapons quite different from that issued by the Coalition forces. Once the new licences are issued, the old ones will become invalid.

The provisional Ministry of the Interior trying to extend its control there, evidently.
And this:

Iran armed Mahdi militiamen says defence chief
(Addustour, ‘ an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh’)– Minister of Defence Hazim al-Shalaan said Iranian weapons had been found with the Mahdi army, a clear sign that Iran had supported the insurgents. Shalaan added there would be no direct negotiations with Muqtada al-Sadr or the Mahdi Army but only with Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, the founder of the peace initiative in Najaf. He said military confrontation would be the government’s response to any similar insurgence that might happen anywhere in Iraq.

Shaalan has seemed like a real hard-liner through all this, hasn’t he?
And a couple of pieces about politically significant real-estate issues:

Property prices rise in Basra
(Asharq Al-Awsat, a London-based, Saudi independent paper)– Political economists from Basra University have criticised the registration law which enables non-Iraqis to possess houses and property in the country. They said many people from Kuwait and neighbouring states have bought property in Shatt al-Arab coasts of Basra making use of the devaluation of the Iraqi dinar. Real-estate offices said brokers bought properties for the benefit of investors from the neighbouring states, resulting in a rise in property prices in Basra, especially in the Asshar area.

and:

Najaf recovering after clashes
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed, ‘independent’)– Quietude has come over Najaf as government offices continue working to support service departments which were exposed to considerable damage during the recent clashes in the city. Ministry of Interior spokesman Sabah Kadhim said the ministry would keep peace and order, in collaboration with the supreme religious establishment, for better stability of the city. He added that Iraqi police had worked hard to end military confrontations and make citizens feel secure. The Iraqi Red Crescent also assisted returnees by providing them with essential requirements.

And from Thursday’s papers, lots of interesting things under-reported elsewhere.
First up, a report on the early proceedings of the 100-member “National Council” that was chosen a couple of weeks back. It is supposed to act as a counter to the power of the Interim Government, though it was formed almost completely by the parties making up the “government”. Go figure… Anyway, it was this meeting on Wednesday that Chalabi was hurrying to when his convoy was ambushed and a couple of his guards got killed. (How did Chalabi get back into the Council’s membership, you may ask? See my speculations, above)
Anyway, this from the IPM:

National Council elects chairman, drafts by-laws
(Al-Nahdhah) — Fouad Masoom has been elected to chair the National Council. A decision also was taken to form a 12-member political and legal committee to write the final draft of the Council’s by-laws. The draft is to be presented when the Council resumes work on Saturday. The first session witnessed differences among members over the way of reciting the oath and some of its language. Councillors agreed that the oldest member would chair the session, appointing Mohammed Bahrul Uloom in the absence of Adnan al-Pachachi.

Might it turn out to be a politically interesting body? Who knows? I wish I knew more about those “differences … over the way of reciting the oath and some of its language”.
Some more about rebuilding plans for Najaf:

Compensation due for Najaf residents
(Al-Mashriq) — The transitional Iraqi government and US forces have decided to compensate residents of Najaf who were affected by the recent clashes in the city. Najaf Governor Adnan al-Thurfi said the multilateral forces would compensate the families of civilian victims and the Iraqi government would pay for damaged property. The government has funds to rebuild Najaf, Thurfi added.

That’s the guy whose name is commonly rendered “Zurufi” in English.
This next one’s really interesting, and has slipped under the radar in the “major western media” so far:

Negotiations with Iran underway
(Al-Mutamar, brought to you by Chalabi’s very own INC)– A source close to the Iraqi delegation to Iran said open and frank negotiations were underway with officials in Tehran. The negotiations concentrated on the security, border and economic issues between the two countries. The security file topped the agenda and the Iraqis were waiting for the Iranians to keep their promises. Iranian officials showed full understanding concerning Iraqi fears of meddling by some Iranian groups. The Iraqi side tried to persuade the Iranians to forget about compensation for the eight-year war between the two countries during the 1980s.

I think that’s the delegation headed by Barham Saleh, right? Btw, I put in that emphasis there.
And this:

Saddam trial judges to be announced
(Al-Bayan, issued four times weekly by the Islamic Dawa Party)– An official source in the Ministry of Justice said the government has named a prominent judge to chair the trial of Saddam Hussein. The name of the judge and those of other members would be released later. The judges last week held a meeting to sort out the procedures and the special rules of the court. Some prosecution witnesses against Saddam would come from members of the former regime. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has ordered a speedy start to the proceedings.

Does this mean the trial will open just before the US presidential election, I wonder? (Gosh, Helena, why so cynical?)
Finally, this:

Allawi meets resistance fighters
(Addaawa, daily paper issued by the Islamic Dawa Party) — Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has secretly met with armed resistance groups from Fallujah, Ramadi and Samarra to convince them to accept his offer of amnesty. He has succeeded in changing views of some representatives who have taken his initiative seriously. Allawi aims to resolve the conflict by political means, not military.

Let’s hope he really means that…. (And that the Americans allow him to do it.)