It says a lot when what was one of the world's most heavily-guarded enclaves can be invaded by a civilian mob. The pictures of hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators clambering over the walls of Baghdad's Green Zone, forcing their way into the parliament building, beating up MPs and generally trashing the place, epitomize a tale of ineptitude and failure. The government of Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi was effectively held to ransom for a few hours by supporters of the Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. Their sit-in was ended yesterday when loudspeaker announcements from their leaders instructed them to withdraw. Sadr clearly reckoned that he had made his point. It is also significant that he flew to Tehran even as his people rampaged inside the parliament. The occupation of much of the 10-square-kilometer Green Zone by Sadr supporters would seem to presage a split in Shia ranks. This display of power by the cleric echoes the role of his militia in boosting the feeble efforts of the army against the terrorists of Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS). Yet this may not actually be a humiliation for Prime Minister Abadi. Indeed Iraq's beleaguered leader may have quietly welcomed the Green Zone attack. His problem is that he continues to be obstructed by his predecessor, the ousted Nouri Maliki. In his eight years as premier until forced from power in 2014, Maliki oversaw a disastrous collapse of good governance. He pursued an anti-Sunni campaign which not only saw the impeachment of vice-president Tariq Al-Hashimi but also the removal of top Sunni officials and most catastrophically seasoned officers from the armed forces. The depleted and demoralized army, despite their huge quantities of modern weaponry, cut and ran in the face of Daesh. Unfortunately for Abadi, Maliki may have finally agreed to quit the job of prime minister, but he hung on to most of his other levers of power and influence. The result has been that Abadi has been unable to make the reforms necessary to set Iraq back on course for economic and security coherence. Too many Maliki allies still occupy key positions of power. What is worse is that parliament not only stopped an investigation of Maliki for corruption but has also blocked every attempt to appoint non-political figures to run the country. Indeed part of Sadr's aim in invading the Green Zone was to demand that Abadi's plan for a new technocratic government be forced through. In this, the cleric would seem to be playing the good guy. But his motives have to be suspect. Tehran has long sustained Sadr's movement with its heartland among the poor of Baghdad's Sadr City, named for his father. But equally the Iranian regime once backed Maliki's disastrous government. Sadr's mission to Tehran was almost certainly to try and convince the Iranians to close down Maliki and cut him loose. He will doubtless have been given soothing words of assurance. But he ought to appreciate, probably better than anyone else, that Iran turned Maliki into its puppet for the clear reason that it did not want a unified and successful Iraq on its border. Iran is using non-secular affinities to meddle in Iraq's internal affairs and as part of its aggressive meddling throughout the Arab world, it has turned Iraq into a crippled, client state. It is not about to help it get back on its feet.
