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Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, under intense pressure to give up plans for a second term, agreed Thursday to let Shiite leaders reconsider his nomination, a step that could mark a breakthrough in the months-long effort to form a new government.
Shiite lawmakers planned to meet Saturday to decide whether to replace al-Jaafari, who faced fierce opposition from Iraq's Kurdish and Sunni Arab parties.
A planned session of the Iraqi parliament aimed at trying to jump-start the formation of a new government also was delayed until Saturday.
"The alliance is leaning toward changing (the nomination). The majority opinion is in favor of this," said Bassem Sharif, a lawmaker in the seven-party Shiite coalition.
Acting speaker Adnan Pachachi later said the Iraqi parliament session scheduled for Thursday would be delayed for two days to allow time "to intensify our efforts to overcome the obstacles," created after Sunnis and Kurds rejected al-Jaafari's nomination.
"I am confident we will succeed in forming the national unity government that all Iraqis are hoping for," Pachachi said.
Opposition to al-Jaafari centers on what critics say is his government's failure to curb a wave of sectarian reprisal attacks between Sunnis and Shiites that began with the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.
Jawad al-Maliki, spokesman for the prime minister's Dawa party, told reporters that "circumstances and updates had occurred" prompting al-Jaafari to refer the nomination back to the alliance "so that it take the appropriate decision."
Al-Maliki said the prime minister was not stepping down, but "he is not sticking to this post."
Al-Maliki and another leading Dawa politician, Ali al-Adeeb, have been touted as possible replacements for al-Jaafari.
The move represents the first sign that al-Jaafari has abandoned his quest to keep the prime minister's post, only a day after he had repeated his steadfast refusal to step down.
Iraqi leaders are under enormous pressure from the United States and Britain to form a new national unity government to stem the country's slide toward chaos and enable Washington and London to show political progress to electorates becoming ever more skeptical of Iraq policy.
As recently as Wednesday, Al-Jaafari had refused to step aside and his Shiite coalition had been reluctant to reconsider his nomination for fear of splintering the alliance.
President Bush on Wednesday urged the Iraqis to "step up and form a unity government so that those who went to the polls to vote recognize that a government will be in place to respond to their needs."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew to Baghdad earlier this month to urge the Iraqis to speed up government talks in a move widely seen as an effort to pressure out al-Jaafari. The visit led to complaints of U.S. interference in Iraq's efforts to establish a permanent government three years after the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The largest bloc in parliament, with 130 lawmakers, the Shiite alliance gets to name the prime minister subject to parliament approval. But the Shiites lack the votes in the 275-member parliament to guarantee their candidate's approval unless they have the backing of the Sunnis and Kurds, whom they need as partners to govern.
Al-Jaafari won the alliance nomination two months ago by only one vote, relying on support from radical anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
With the deadlock dragging on, more Shiite lawmakers have shown a willingness to dump him though they have been reluctant to do so overtly and break the coalition.
Resolution of the prime minister issue could smooth the way for filling other posts, including the president, two vice presidents, parliament speaker and the two deputy speakers. The Shiites could block Sunni and Kurdish candidates for those positions in retaliation for the standoff over al-Jaafari.
Late Wednesday, the Sunnis decided to support Adnan al-Dulaimi for speaker, a post held by a Sunni Arab in the last parliament.
Thursday's parliament session had been intended to vote on the parliament speaker and his deputies. But in the wake of al-Jaafari's announcement, the Shiite coalition said it would not attend and asked that the session be delayed. Lawmakers have met briefly only once since the Dec. 15 election.
Violence continued Thursday as gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque in the southern Baghdad district of Saidiya, sparking an hour-long clash before dawn with mosque guards and residents.
No casualties were reported, but the walls of the mosque and nearby houses were damaged, police 1st. Lt. Thair Mahmoud said.
The fighting came days after fierce battles in Baghdad's biggest Sunni neighborhood, Azamiyah, that underlined the deep distrust between the country's communities.
U.S. officials said the violence broke out Monday when attackers fired on Iraqi army patrols and a joint U.S.-Iraqi checkpoints. At least 13 people were killed before calm was restored Tuesday.
But Azamiyah residents said they took up arms when Shiite militias and Interior Ministry commandos moved into the area. Many Sunnis consider those groups little more than death squads.
In a statement late Wednesday, the prime minister's office denied any ministry forces were involved, and said three insurgent groups provoked the clashes by purporting to be from Shiite militias and the ministry.
The statement identified the three insurgent groups as the Islamic Army of Iraq, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and al-Qaida in Iraq.
It said insurgents were making a new effort to infiltrate Baghdad "for armed displays and to destabilize the city."
jillian said:At least if al-Jaafari goes, there's a shot at a unity government. His presence has been a divisive force there.
jillian said:Something to agree on!
Bonnie said:Absolutely!!
I don't think there's a person in this board that actually wants Iraq's government to remain in turmoil and our troops not getting out of there as soon as possible.
