http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2012/06/01/iraq-closer-to-maliki-no-confidence-vote/
Iraq Closer to Maliki No Confidence Vote
Friday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded
by Margaret Griffis, June 01, 2012
Iraq is a step closer to holding a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, according to one of the parties critical of him. Maysoon al-Damluji, spokeswoman for the Iraqiya bloc, said that over 200 signatures have been collected so far from supportive members of the Council of Representatives. The signatories come from across the political spectrum and include members of Maliki’s State of Law party.
A group of political leaders consisting of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, Speaker of the House Osama al-Nujafi and Iraqiya bloc head Ayad Allawi instigated the no-confidence vote during a series of meetings. They say Maliki has amassed too much power and needs to instead abide by a 2010 deal that allowed Maliki to retain the premier’s seat for a second term. President Jalal Talabani advised the group to follow all constitutional procedures when continuing further.
The National Alliance ignored an earlier opportunity to select the next prime minister and insists only it has the right to withdraw confidence from Maliki. The bloc did hold a meeting today, without the prime minister in attendance.
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http://en.aswataliraq.info/(S(wefvx155mfy4yz45p42os0av))/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=148834&l=1
BAGHDAD/ Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqiya bloc MP Ahmed al-Masari said that the political entities meeting in Kurdistan are discussing the post-Maliki era, pointing that there are three candidates from the National Alliance.
Masari told Aswat al-Iraq that the conferees are trying to form a national government capable of achieving all political agreements and forming real partnership government.
The letter of withdrawing confidence from Premier Nouri al-Maliki's was handed to President Jalal Talabani, who will refer it to the parliament to have due action.
He added that there are three candidates for the National Alliance to replace Maliki.
No names were given.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/01/us-usa-iraq-extradition-idUSBRE85016U20120601
(Reuters) - The United States has formally asked Iraq to extradite a suspected Hezbollah operative accused of killing American troops, a U.S. official told Reuters, amid heightened concerns in Washington that he may go free.
It was not immediately clear when the request was filed and Iraqi officials approached by Reuters denied knowledge of it, casting doubt on whether an extradition was seriously being considered at this point in Baghdad.
The fate of Ali Mussa Daqduq has been vexing American officials since last December, when the United States was forced to hand him over to Baghdad after failing to secure a custody deal ahead of the U.S. military's withdrawal from the country.
At the time, the White House said it had received assurances from Baghdad that Daqduq would be tried for allegedly orchestrating a 2007 kidnapping that resulted in the killing of five U.S. military personnel. But an Iraqi court earlier this month cleared him of the charges, citing a lack of evidence.
Daqduq's attorney confirmed that the Lebanese-born suspect remained in Iraqi custody but scoffed at the suggestion that Daqduq might face American courts.
"The Americans have no right to get him," Abdulalmehdi al-Mutiri, Daqduq's lawyer, told Reuters. "Whatever they claim that he did, it would have happened on Iraqi soil and that means he is under Iraqi jurisdiction."
Indeed, there are real questions about whether Iraq - which previously shunned U.S. efforts to retain custody of Daqduq - would respond positively to an extradition request.
The White House declined comment on whether any request had been made but President Barack Obama's government has said it will pursue all legal options to bring justice to Daqduq.
REPUBLICAN CRITICISM
Republicans have sharply criticized Obama's handling of the case. In a May 10 letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Attorney General Eric Holder, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked whether any formal extradition request had been made for Daqduq, who was born in Lebanon.
"The U.S. has filed a formal extradition request" with the Iraqi government, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's media advisor Ali al-Moussawi said he was unaware of any extradition request for Daqduq and declined to be drawn into what he saw as a hypothetical question about how the Iraqi government would respond to one.
Asked about the possibility Daqduq might soon go free, the U.S. official confirmed: "That's a real worry."
Daqduq was captured in March 2007 and initially claimed he was a deaf mute. U.S. forces accused him of being a surrogate for Iran's elite Quds force operatives and say he joined the Lebanese Hezbollah in 1983.
Daqduq's attorney said a representative of Hezbollah had come to Iraq but left "because he felt he could not do anything more."
"But legally Daqduq is clear, there are no charges against him," Mutiri said.
If Daqduq were extradited, he would face charges for war crimes. A second U.S. official confirmed that charges filed against Daqduq in the U.S. military commissions system earlier this year included murder, attempted murder, attempted taking of hostages, spying, and terrorism.
It was not immediately clear where the U.S. military commission trial for Daqduq would be held if he were ultimately extradited. But Panetta last year told Congress that Daqduq would face "better justice" if tried by the United States.
FBI Director Robert Mueller said last month his department would be "willing and able" to cooperate with a military commission trial if the U.S. wins custody of Daqduq.
"In the meantime, however, we have cooperated with the Iraqi authorities in providing intelligence and information for their proceedings in Iraq," Mueller told Congress.
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