Iraq: Al-Maliki Threatens Power-sharing Government

On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki threatened in a news conference to release documents that he claims “implicated his opponents in terrorism,” deepening the political crisis in the country. Al-Maliki also warned the Kurdish community that “there would be ‘problems’ if they protected Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi,” who fled to the Kurdish region after being accused of leading a death squad.

The issue of an arrest warrant from the Shiite-led government for the Sunni vice president threatened to deepen a dangerous political crisis in Iraq just days after U.S. combat troops left the country, prompting concern that the government was not stable.