Maliki calls for 'iron fists' against foreign 'conspiracies'

BAGHDAD: Addressing his military chiefs, Iraq's beleaguered Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned on Wednesday against "conspiracies" in foreign capitals against his government.

He called on the generals to wield "iron fists" against those who would "lay the red carpet" for outside interference in Iraq.

The toughly worded speech, at a conference of Iraqi army division commanders, didn't specify which Iraqis or foreigners al-Maliki fears may be working to oust him, but his largely ineffectual, year-old leadership has been under criticism both at home and abroad, including in the U.S. Congress.

Former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a parliament member and secular Shiite Muslim, is believed gathering Iraqi political support to try to replace al-Maliki, whom he regards as a sectarian Shiite Islamist.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

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