Transcripts For ALJAZAM Inside Story 20140812

Maliki has been Prime Minister since 2006, and has consolidated power head of the armed force and defense minister. However his ruling power has isolated sunni, kurds. Our inside story, iraq and the United States. Just as american warplanes reenter the fight against Islamic State insurgents in the north. Reporter on the battlefield the american objective is to stop the Islamic State advances in the kurdish regio. Prime minister maliki is clinging to the power even after the nomination of 9 now man for the job. They have adopted Heider Al Abadi as the new Prime Minister. The news comes after maliki would take him to court. Today i will file a legal complaint to the federal court for committing a clear constitutional violation for the sake of Political Goals and preferring narrow interests over the iraqi people. Police and soldiers were deployed to the 9 streets closing roads known to be popular for protests. Showing signs as the beginning of a coup. A spokesperson later denounced those rumors. The military measures in deployment in baghdad is normal and there is nothing unusual. Everything is normal in baghdad but the security deployment has already been withdrawn. There is no cause for concern. Reporter support formal can i as Prime Minister has waneed. He has been able to build norco application to form a government. The u. S. Has let its support e ww too. We believe the that mr. Maliki will not stir those waters. The security continues in Northern Iraq. Over the weekend american airstrikes pounded areas excellently taken over by the Islamic State. The u. S. Military also air dropped humanitarian aid, including food and water. This is humanitarian issue of great consequence for all the world, and i think great powers understand that they have responsibility in these areas. Reporter thousands of yazidis who have been told by the Islamic State that they have to convert to islam or be killed were saved by helps after taking refuge on sinjar mountain. The yazidis are finding safety in kurdish regions as the kurdish army has been at the forefront of battling the Islamic State. I walk by foot from sinjar mountain to syria. As the fighting continues in the north the political infight something far from resolved. The Prime Minister designate Haider Al Abadi has one month to form a government. So will Nouri Almaliki step down or tighten his grip on power. What does that mean for a power change in baghdad, and how will that impact iraq as a whole . While insurgents with the Islamic State fight for more ground. Joining us, our guests. Thank you all for joining us. Lets talk about our nominee for Prime Minister. Who is al abadi . Who is Haider Al Abadi. s leader who came to the country in the 70s, and has been involved in the iraqi war position since that time. He was one of the leader in london and beirut, so hes an outspoken person, and outside of the country. Haider al abadi, he has been in all the iraqi position meeting over about 3035 years so far. When he went back to the country he get literally minister and demonstration. He was the minister, and then he get elected and he headed the investment between 2005 an and 2008. He has been head of finance. He has been the leader for how long how long, he was a trusted person. Tested person. He was basically executive, and also he worked with the legislative. So the shy person that they agree on consensus. He has a great relationship with the iraqi. The courts trust him, and also the sunni trust him. So here is haid er al abadi giving them the opportunity to move on the political process. Shia, dowa, Haider Al Abadi he is coming from a similar background in some respects as you Nouri Almaliki. I think your other guest gave a good summary of his background, but i disagree with his conclusions. I know al abadi well from working on resolutions and working together on subsequent crisis in baghdad i agree that he is probably the best kind among the shia coalition. I was quite relieved and very pleased by his nomination. Let me have you pause there. President obama is making a comment in marth Marthas Vineyard in iraq. Barac president obama to keep them from advancing on the city of erbil. Kurdish forces on the ground continue to defend their city, and we step up the advise and assistance to iraqi and Kurdish Forces as they continue their fight against isis. We continue to provide lifesafing assistance to men, women and children stranded on mount sin gentleman sinjar. Were working with International Partners to develop options to bring them to safety. I want to thank in particular the united kingdom, france and other countries providing muchneeded assistance to the iraqi people. Meanwhile our aircraft to strike any terrorist forces who threaten the safety of these families. This advances the limited military objectives weve outlined in iraq. Protecting american citizens, providing advice and assistance to iraqi forces as they battle these terrorists and joining with International Partners to provide humanitarian aid. Like i said when we authorized these operation there is no military solution to the crisis in iraq. The only lasting solution is for iraqis to come together and form an inclusive government, one that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis, and one that can unify the countrys fight against isis. Today iraq took a promising step forward in this critical effort. Last month the iraqi people named a new president. Today they maimed a president designate haidr al abadi. This is a next step to form a government that will unite iraqs different communities. Earlier today Vice President biden and i called dr. Abadi to congratulate him and asked him to form a cabinet as soon as possible that will include all iraqis. Meanwhile i urge all iraqi leaders to work peacefully in the days ahead. This new iraqi leadership has to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively and taking step to demonstrate such result. The United States stands ready to support a government that addresses the needs and grievances of all iraqi people. Were also ready to work with other countries in the region to deal with the humanitarian crisis and Counter Terrorism for iraq. This will be easier once this new government is in place. These have been difficult days in iraq. The country that has faced so many challenges in its recent history, and im sure there will be difficult days ahead. But, just as the United States will remain vigilant against the athlete posed by isis isil, without question that effort will be advanced. If iraqis continue to build on todays progress and come together to support a new and inclusive government. Thanks, everybody. President obama live from Marthas Vineyard making a statement about what is happening in Northern Iraq and also the formation of a new Iraqi Government. Were talking about the situation in iraq. I wanted to get back to you and get your impression of president obamas comments. After really five years of pursuing a catastrophically poor iraq policy, i think president obamas recent statements to clue the one he just made were spot on. After years of supporting Prime Minister maliki despite fighting against the kurds and fellow shia, president obamas statements have been exactly correct. He has conditioned the american assistance to the government in baghdad on an Inclusive National government. As president obama said over the weekend, not only with new faces but a new agenda and a new way of doing business. I think as he reiterated the fact that the new government must address the grievances of all iraqis before additional u. S. Assistance flows is exactly right on. This as he repeated several times now there is no u. S. Military solution to iraqs problems to include isis threat. Rather, a solution is grounded in a government that equitably represents all iraqis, and that is the way to expel isis from iraq just as several years ago. I want to get a response before we go to break. The president is taking you back to this premise that the government needs to be stable and reformed. Your opinion . I think thats clearly true. Prime minister maliki had reached a point where he had lost the confident not only of the kurds and the sunni, which is a long story, but his own people. Thats really what we were waiting for. He was never going to go anywhere. Its important again that mr. Al abadi is also from the dowa party. Dowa is the most moderate of the shiaislamist party, and yet the shiaislamist represent the majority of the vote. So the president has to come from this face. The thing that we agree on is the reason that al maliki could never be removed, why the vote of no confidence could ever move forward is his party passes for the center of iraqi politician. The other two sunni groups to his left and the curds to the rights. But in terms of finding a party that is closest to all the other groups, dowa was it. So long as he occupied that space it was impossible to move. Dowa had to say no, there is someone else that could go forward. No, now that dowa has another face, there can be another government. Well come back after a few moments. This is inside story. A lot of these mining sites are restricted a silent killer. Its got a lot of arsenic in it you know your waters bad, and you know youre sick unheard victims. 90 of the people will have some type of illness from the water. Where could it happen next . I mean they took away my life. Fault lines. Al jazeera americas hard hitting. Theyre locking the door. Ground breaking. We have to get out of here. Truth seeking. Award winning, investigative, documentary series. Water for coal only on Al Jazeera America on tech know, the system is paying attention. Life saving technology. I definitely slowed down as a result. Transforming the way you drive. Maybe crashes wont happen any more. Smart cars of the future. Whoa. I would have driven straight through that. Tech know, every saturday go where science meets humanity. This is some of the best driving ive every done, even though i cant see. Tech know. Were here in the vortex. Only on Al Jazeera America. Welcome back to inside story. Im libby casey. The parliament has its pick for a new iraqi Prime Minister. What does change mean to iraq in turmoil. Robin, lets talk more about Nouri Almaliki, and the significance of losing u. S. Support. How has that happened . Well, two things, three things that really maliki know supporters know, his government has never been an inclusive government. Even ministers from different faction of iraqi, still they are not allowed to do their business. There is no real Reconciliation Program that al maliki led to get them all involved in politics. And then the Government Security forces he went from a consensus Prime Minister that was chosen to be a consensus person to moving to the direction of dictatorship. Thats not permissible. So he literally moved to his own game than the Iraqi Government or the iraqi people did. We lost the Prime Minister. We lost the support of the iraqis, and when i say support of the iraqis, im talking about the whole iraq as a country. He lost the court. He lost the assembly, and then suddenly he lost all the shia. We have a Prime Minister supported by his own Political Party and with Haider Al Abady that will not stand behind him. You talk about respecting the process, and that is less about the man himself. What do you make of that . I think one of the principle american and iraqi failures since 2003 is the failure to respect iraqs constitutional processes and the failure to build real institutions in iraq. The most recent example of this weve seen is both maliki politicizing the judiciary and also the iraqi armydivisions of the iraqi army collapsed in the wake of isis invasion exactly because of the fact there were no institutions built or they were eroded primarily under mowers rule over the last eight years. Was the power sharing set up inherently flawed from the beginning . Do you support the way it started . Again, as one o of the american diplomats that participated in the drafting of iraqs constitutions we were faced really with a very difficult challenge. You couldnt centralize power in a strong federal government in baghdad obviously threat iraqs history over the past several decades thats what led to the dictatorship in the form of Saddam Hussein or his his predecessors. We pride to give him an opportunity to peacefully coexist by devolving some of those powers in an arrangement of federalism. Unfortunately, Prime Minister al maliki, specifically throughout the past four years during his second turn has done exactly the opposite. He has created institutional organizations like the office of the chief, Regional Military command. He has by past the military command making generals report debtly to him, and h the list is extremely long. He has not appointed permanent parliament confirmed ministers of defense or intelligence over the past four years. This is part of the reason why again iraq has been invaded by isis over the past several months. It goes back to a failure of leadership. If i can, i would like to address my friend and colleague dougs assessment of the dowa party. The fact is we need to remember that dowa, backed by irans revolutionary guards, helped to mastermind the blowing up of the u. S. Embassy in kuwait and the French Embassy in 1981. This is not a moderate party. It is inpersonly the inherently theocratic. I agree that Haider Al Abadi is the best nominee and one i would have chose on it lead the country. He faces a histori historic opportunity now. Haider al abadi could be the last Prime Minister of iraq or the first Prime Minister of a truly inclusive iraq. He has the opportunity to unite all iraqis behind a nationalist nonsectarian agenda. Or well see it go down in an abyss. It will will be either violent or it will bring stability. That is a big weight everyone is placing on Haider Al Abadis shoulders. I dont disagree with that final conclusion, there is a chance of iraq fragmenting, the sunni now are very incentivized. Theyve seen what its like to live under the rule of the Islamic State. While al malikis government was not perfect he was not this game kmer rouge. To have the Islamic State 18 miles from erbil, what has made kurdistan great over the past several years and the safe part of iraq is no longer true, and the Oil Companies have fled. All these groups need each other in a way they didnt two weeks ago. Time for a short break. When we come back well pick up on that and look at the fighting in the north and find out how it relates to baghdad. This is inside story. Every saturday, Al Jazeera America brings you conversations you wont find anywhere else. Youre listening because you wanna see what happen. Get your damn education. Talk to al jazeera only on Al Jazeera America oh my. Rail car borderland continues only on Al Jazeera America welcome back to inside story. Im libby casey. On this edition of the program were talking about iraqi in political transition at the same time facing an extension threat from a sunni insurgency. What does it mean when the u. S. Is engaged in military operations against a potent militant force bent on control of iraq. Here to discuss more are our guests, our panel. Raman, is the threat of isil or Islamic State enough to unify other factions of iraq. First i dont think Haider Al Abadi is the political solution for the iraqi problem. I think he is an opportunity. Second, for the threat of isis, it is not just a political process in iraq, it is a humanitarian crisis in iraq. All of the political bargainers in iraq from the sunni to shia feel that the threat against them. Its not just really against the shia or against the kurds. That threat could be literally leading the whole region on fire. Thats everybody. Understand that were all in this danger. So let us put our trouble on the side right now and let us face what could ending our whole iraq experience right now. Thats why they aremost of them united on this front. Im not saying that there is trouble with each other is gone, but the threat is huge. Not just for iraq, its for the International Community. Weigh in on that for us. Is that influencing iraq . I absolutely agree with his conclusions, 100 , on every single point. The reality is that just like the other new leaders that have been nominated and taken position in baghdad, mr. Al abadi offers an opportunity, not a solution. The solution lies not in new faces but a new way of doing business in iraq, a new way that has not existed since 2003. I also completely agree with the fact that isis is both extension to iraq, to its neighbors across the region and frankly also to the International Community and to the United States. Isis including its leader have explicitly when released from prison in iraq vowed to see us to new york and vowed to fly the isis flag over the white house. This is why i applaud president obamas newly iraq strategy supporting an inclusive government in baghdad rather than unconditionally supporting a despot like Nouri Almaliki. Where does this put the u. S. As it reflects on the government. If things do not happen in a months timetable does the u. S. Get involved . I think so. The u. S. Has a clear interest. President obama did not wake up last week and decide he just cared about iraq a lot more. You know, iraq, iraq does not have the most dysfunctional government in the region, it does not have the most authoritative and oppressive government in the region. We care about the Islamic State. And hes right, it is an extension threat, this is why the United States is involved and it will continue to be involved regardless of what happens. Thanks so much. Thats all the time we have today. Thats the end of inside story. Im libby casey inside washington. On america tonight, the fury in ferguson. Protesters in the street of a st. Louis suburb after an unarmed black teen is gunned down by police. Hands this way, if the air, being compliant. There was a struggle over the officers weapon. Why it happened and how this shooting adds to a growing national debate. Are the police going too far . Also tonight, hell on the mountain. Terrifiefu