Union Of Patriotic Figures, New Iraqi Opposition Party, Formed

BAGHDAD — A group of political dissidents created a new Iraqi opposition party Saturday, vowing to act as a check on the government as the prime minister warned that a push for regional autonomy could tear the country apart.

About 45 activists announced the creation of the Union of Patriotic Figures and described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties.

"We will be an opposition to monitor both the government and the parliament," Mishaan al-Saadi, who unsuccessfully ran for election to parliament in 2010 on the secular but Sunni-dominated Iraqiya list, told reporters.

Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for months. It was galvanized mostly by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pursuit of suspected terrorists and resulted in charges filed against hundreds of Sunnis, including a vice president. In turn, many Sunnis are threatening to break away from the central Shiite-led government and create their own state in Iraq.

Speaking at a conference of his Shiite political party, al-Maliki said that such a system would, at the least, freeze vital government services like electricity and security for the areas that break away. At worst, he said, the fractures could lead to fighting among Iraq's regions.

"The situation won't help. It might even be an entrance for internal battles," al-Maliki said in his speech in Karbala, a holy Shiite city 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

Al-Maliki has struggled to avoid defections from the coalition government he formed after the 2010 elections, which failed to produce a clear winner.

Government instability linked to the political crisis and fears caused by the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December continues to give new impetus to insurgents.

Bombs ripped through three Iraqi cities on Saturday, killing one and injuring 11, according to local police and health officials.

Among the wounded were four policemen – three in Baghdad and one in the town of Jbala, about 60 miles (110 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

In the city of Fallujah, a former al-Qaida stronghold located 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, police said two car bombs killed an insurgent and wounded his accomplice as they planned to plant them across the city. Investigators described the two men as wanted terrorists.

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Comments

[AZreb]

07:53 AM on 02/12/2012

",,,,entrance for internal battles'? al Maliki has begun the "internal battles" by marginalizing the Sunnis, issuing arrest warrants for some of them, sending his thugs to search their homes and offices. What next? Civil war?

And a question - why can't we "fan" comments now? Have tried for 4 days and still unable to fan comments.

[JackHandsomeTheBrilliant]

05:04 AM on 02/12/2012

It's great thing to see Iraqis be able to take control of their own future. I shouldn't have to say that anything like this could not have even been dreamed about during the Hussein regime. The U.S. did a good thing here.

[cornel]

04:05 PM on 02/11/2012

So the US now support a new despot in Iraq, Al-Maliki. I wonder how long it will take before his goons will uses our weapons to start a Sunni pogrom !

[AZreb]

07:50 AM on 02/12/2012

tried to fan you - for the 4th day in a row, can't fan. This HP/AOL partnership is not working out too well for the public. Anyone else having this problem? Any solution?

[cornel]

11:26 AM on 02/12/2012

I'm fanning you, you can get back at me. Hope this solves the problem

[cornel]

11:44 AM on 02/12/2012

Sorry not working, HP has huge problems ! Maybe they should pay their IT a little bit better ? Check status here -> http://status.huffingtonpost.com/

[SouthStJo]

02:14 PM on 02/11/2012

"described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties."

That's terrific.