Iraqi government reshuffle leaves critics dissatisfied

Nouri al-Maliki, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Moqtada al-Sadr,
Harith al-Dhari and Massoud Barzani

BAGHDAD — An Iraqi government shake-up meant to improve a much-criticized executive branch won't change key security and economic Cabinet positions, top Iraqi officials said Tuesday.

Though his nation is ravaged by violence and poverty, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki will include only a dozen relatively minor ministry posts in his reshuffle plan, including the heads of health, transportation, culture, women's affairs and tourism, his deputies and inner circle said in telephone interviews and media outlets.

No changes will be made anytime soon at the key security and economic ministries: defense, interior, foreign affairs, finance and oil.

"The security dilemma is not an issue of ministries," said Abbas Bayati, a member of Maliki's Shiite Muslim coalition. "The issue is beyond the government and ministries. The real challenge is to find reconciliation and political understanding. It's not possible to accuse the security ministries of poor performance."

Read the rest at the LA Times

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