Facts:
Rumors:
Of Interest (rumors that I find of particular interest either because of who said it or because of how I think it relates to what is happening right now):
The Rest (doesn’t mean these are not happening):
1. None
Where Are We At?
1. And I thought news was slow yesterday! Wow! Well, the demonstrations continue and today was no exception. There were hundreds of protesters walking in the streets after their morning prayer today. They called for the elimination of the Senate, provisions of services, improved living conditions, and the dismissal of the Municipal Council. More importantly, they called for the ouster of Maliki. In other related news, thousands gathered in front of the green zone to protest against the violence and use of live ammunition stemming from security authorities.
2. In government formation news, Allawi and Maliki are still at it. Or rather, Maliki is still at it. A committee decided that the vote on the President of the National Council will be outside of parliament. The article mentioned that Allawi refuses to be president of the Council without winning a vote in Parliament. Then, the List warned that there would be hazardous consequences in the event that Maliki rejects their candidate for the Defense Ministry. Maliki stated that some of the blocs believe the ministries belong to them and said that the security ministries are independent and everyone is entitle to run. Finally, the Sadrists threatened to withdraw from parliament over the Kut protest clashes if those behind the shootings of the demonstrators are not revealed.
3. In budget news, Nujaifi said that the parliament will no longer accept late submission of the final accounts of the budget. He said that the final accounts are always late and that the handling of the budget requires stricter time management in the future. He also mentioned that the GOI will make a serious effort to renegotiate the agreement on the compensation payments to Kuwait, and suggested they could come to agreement
4. In US bank news, many national banks across the state will be open on Monday. Also, a bank manager on the MTT call last night said her bank would be open, but she wouldn’t divulge the reasons why they were going to be open
What’s left?
1. Vote on the budget
2. Closure on Security positions (3 in total)
3. Formal announcement of government
4. Agreement on outstanding Kuwait issues (I believe this is done)
5. Lifting of remaining Chapter 7 sanctions (Kuwait related)
6. RV/RI
7. HCL
Important Dates
1. February 17 – GCC Meeting (no news of this yet)
2. February 20 – Vote on the budget
3. February (but sometime after the budget is voted on) – Parliament votes on the National Council of Supreme policies
4. February 28 – Constitutional deadline to form government
5. February 25 -- Large demonstration online
6. March 29-30 – Arab Summit
7. May 1 – CBI must be ready to transfer DFI monies
8. May 22 – Presidential order 13303 expires
9. June 30 – DFI expires
What’s It All Mean?
1. Starting with the government formation, I want to be sure we’re all on the same page about who is causing problems. Maliki is causing the problems simply because he is not sticking with the agreements. The news today of Maliki making the statement that the security ministries are independent and that everyone should be entitled to run for them is another way of him saying that he doesn’t plan to fill the security ministries according to the Barzani agreements. Speaking of the Barzani agreements, in their meeting on 2-15, Barzani called Maliki in the presence of the US ambassador and Allawi to ask Maliki to complete what has been agreed upon regarding the National Council of the policies and the security ministries (read this article for a refresher on the details). If you’re in the camp that believes that Allawi is causing the problems, why would the US attend a meeting with Barzani and Allawi and have Barzani tell Maliki to complete the agreements as agreed upon? Wouldn’t it be the other way around where they would be telling Allawi to follow the agreements? Allawi has been behind the scenes waiting for Maliki to do what he agreed to do in the Barzani agreements. Maliki is clearly dragging things out and not doing what he was supposed to do, and in the process, he stands to lose his Federal Court. He’s doing all of this because he doesn’t want Allawi to have powers over him. This is why he doesn’t want the vote in Parliament for Allawi’s position. He also doesn’t want Allawi to control the Defense Ministry, which is why he isn’t complying with those agreements. He’s losing all his powers and is fighting hard to keep what little he can keep. In the meantime, he’s stalling the government formation and people on the streets are getting angrier. Not smart. They are beginning to call for him to leave office. Not sure what more it will take for him to get the messages.
2. Let’s hope that they do what they’ve promised everyone they will do with the budget tomorrow….vote on it
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