Maliki's faltering crackdown on Shiite militants has won the backing of Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties that fear both the powerful sectarian militias and the effects of failure on Iraq's fragile government. The emergence of a common cause could help bridge Iraq's political rifts. The head of the Kurdish self-ruled region, Massoud Barzani, has offered Kurdish troops to help fight anti-American cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. More significantly, Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq Al-Hashemi signed off on a statement by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and the Shiite Vice President, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, expressing support for the crackdown in the oil-rich southern city of Basra. Hashemi is one of Maliki's most bitter critics and the two have been locked in an acrimonious public quarrel for a year. On Thursday, however, Maliki paid Hashemi a rare visit. A statement by Hashemi's office said the vice president told Maliki that “we can bite the bullet and put aside our political differences.” “The main aim at this critical juncture is to ensure that our political choices are made in Iraq's interest,” Hashemi said. Shiite militias were responsible for the deaths of thousands of Sunni Arabs in the sectarian bloodletting of 2006 and 2007. The Mahdi Army is blamed for much of the killing. A top leadership council made up of Talabani, Maliki and leaders of major political blocs called Saturday on Iraqi parties to disband their militias or risk being barred from contesting elections and participating in political life. The council also affirmed its support for Maliki's campaign against militias and “outlaws.” “I think the government is now enjoying the support of most political groups because it has adopted a correct approach to the militia problem,” said Hussein Al-Falluji, a lawmaker from parliament's largest Sunni Arab bloc, the three-party Iraqi Accordance Front. Hashemi heads one of the three, the Iraqi Islamic Party. The Accordance Front pulled out of Maliki's Cabinet in August to protest his policies. The newfound support over militias could help Maliki persuade the five Sunni ministers who quit their posts to return. If he succeeds, that would constitute a big step toward national reconciliation, something the US has long demanded. Still, the Sunnis are looking for concessions from Maliki, whom they accuse of monopolizing power. “The mission ahead is clear,” Hashemi's office said in an April 2 statement. “There must be a national program that obliges everyone to reconsider, show flexibility, accept the others and ... work in the spirit of one team.” Whether that happens depends largely on how the government deals with the issue of Shiite militias. The Basra crackdown, bogged down in the face of fierce resistance and discontent in the ranks of government forces. Major combat eased after Sadr asked his militia to stop fighting last Sunday. But Maliki continued his tough rhetoric, threatening to take his crackdown to the Mahdi Army's strongholds in Baghdad. Sadr hinted at retaliation, and the prime minister backed down, freezing raids and arrests targeting the young cleric's supporters. Barzani, the Kurdish leader, has been at sharp odds with Maliki's government over what he sees as its lackluster reaction to Turkish military moves against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. The Kurds are also angry over the national government's opposition to Kurdish deals with foreign oil companies. A successful crackdown in Basra would have boosted the election chances of Maliki's Dawa party and his Shiite allies in the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, whose Badr Brigade militia is the Mahdi Army's sworn enemy. The Supreme Council hopes to win the fall vote so it can form a self-ruled region similar to the Kurdish one in the north - something the Sadrists oppose. Key council figures also want the crackdown to continue - even at the risk of a new round of fighting. __
