Iraq government orders security command shakeup after Baghdad blasts

Iraq orders security shakeup after Baghdad blasts

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Western-backed government — facing intense pressure to address security lapses after suicide bombings killed 127 people in the capital — ordered a shake-up Wednesday in the country’s military leadership.

The angry mood that led Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to replace Baghdad’s top military commander reveals a stark psychological shift among Iraqis who once accepted such violence as routine and are now demanding someone pay a political price.

Al-Maliki appealed for Iraqis to be patient as he signaled more changes might be ahead for security officials. The prime minister was expected to attend a special parliamentary session Thursday, where lawmakers demanded his security ministers answer for lapses that allowed for the attacks.

“I call on the Iraqi people for more patience and steadfastness,” al-Maliki said in a televised address.

It was unclear whether the replacement of Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar would quiet outraged lawmakers, who are questioning how suicide bombers managed to launch multiple attacks Tuesday in heavily guarded central Baghdad. The blasts wounded more than 500.

Much of al-Maliki’s appeal was aimed at calming anger that has united Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian rivals — from Kurd to Arab, Shiite to Sunni — with their calls on Iraq’s interior and defense ministers to resign.

“They have proved failures,” said Saadi al-Barzanji, a Kurdish lawmaker.

Even the group that Iraq has accused of masterminding this week’s bombings as well as two previous major attacks has called on security officials to step down.

“He who cannot ensure security for Iraqis should leave,” Baath party spokesman Khudair al-Murshidi told Al-Jazeera in an interview from Syria. Al-Murshidi has denied that loyalists of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party were behind any of the attacks.

Top security officials have twice failed to appear after being called before lawmakers. Those request followed suicide bombings against government buildings Aug. 19 and Oct. 25. More than 250 were killed in the earlier attacks.

Ayad al-Samarrie, the parliament speaker, on Tuesday again called on the ministers and others to appear before legislators, said Omar al-Mashhadani, the speaker’s spokesman.

Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said he would attend the session only if it was not held behind closed doors, according to a statement released by his office. It was not clear whether his demand was met or whether other officials would attend. Security matters have typically been discussed in parliament in closed session.

The political fallout provides a sharp contrast to what occurred following attacks that produced equal or greater devastation in previous years in Baghdad. At the height of the insurgency, tens of thousands died in street fighting and bombing attacks with virtually no calls for resignations.

During the address on state television, al-Maliki said Iraq’s security strategies would be reviewed and possible personnel changes made. He stopped short of saying whether any of his ministers would be held responsible.

Al-Maliki appointed Lt. Gen. Ahmed Hashim Ouda late Wednesday to head Baghdad’s military operations, according to state television.

Ouda has been a close political ally of al-Maliki and belongs to his Dawa party. He fought in the Iran-Iraq war, commanding an army division, and led an Iraqi army division during the 1991 Gulf War.

The prime minister previously has not asked any of his top security advisers to step down, but he now may have little choice. Al-Maliki has been running for re-election on a platform of improved security, and a lack of response could cost the prime minister and his party votes.

The U.S. has refrained from commenting publicly about the security lapses, instead warning of a possible rise in violence aimed at destabilizing the government ahead of the March 7 parliamentary elections. The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, has said he will keep the bulk of the 120,000 U.S. troops in place until after the election.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the latest bombings, though the U.S. military has said high-profile vehicle bombs and simultaneous suicide bombings are the hallmarks of al-Qaida.

In his address, Al-Maliki called on neighbors to do more to stop to prevent insurgent attacks in Iraq — an apparent reference to Syria. Relations between the two countries soured after Baghdad accused Syria of harboring senior Baathists who masterminded the attacks in August and October. Syria denies it.

“I demand of the international community and all countries, including neighboring countries, who condemn the attacks to turn their words into actions and support the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government by confronting terrorism,” al-Maliki said.