“Iraqi Leader Threatens to Abandon Power-Sharing”

“BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq threatened on Wednesday to abandon an American-backed power sharing government created a year ago, throwing the country’s fragile democracy into further turmoil just days after the departure of American troops.”

Al-Maliki, a Shiite, also demanded that the Kurds turn over  VP Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, and attacked the main Sunni party, Iraqiya. The Kurds’ decision here will be all-important. If they let Hashemi escape or refuse to turn him over, al Mailiki’s threat will be tested, and we’ll find out how good the Iraqi army is against the fierce Kurdish force, the Peshmerga.  This is the civil war Iraq should have had before the 2007 Surge.\

UPDATE: “At least 63 people were killed in a series of explosions in Iraq on Thursday, a day after the Iraqi prime minister threatened to abandon the power-sharing government.” NYTIMES