Maliki tested in wake of security deal

BAGHDAD, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Negotiating the pact for a U.S. troop withdrawal cast Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as a power-hungry ruler or a charismatic leader, experts say.

After nearly a year of negotiations, the Iraqi Parliament last week passed a measure outlining the framework for the withdrawal of U.S. forces by Dec. 31, 2011.

With rumors circulating in 2007 that U.S. officials were quietly trying to oust the Iraqi leader, Maliki has emerged in the wake of the security deal in a strengthened position, the Iraqi satellite channel al-Sumaria said Wednesday.

"The pact crowns Maliki's efforts: a gradual drawdown that focuses on training Iraqi security forces," said Reidar Visser, research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

During the negotiation process, the Iraqi premier managed to shore up his influence with Sunni tribal elders and Shiite supporters as he staged crackdowns on the Mehdi Army militia in the south and took on al-Qaida operatives throughout the country.

But his power will be tested in the January provincial elections as governmental officials in the Kurdish region exchange tit-for-tat accusations over jurisdiction and authority.

Maliki is facing additional pressure from his president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, over so-called Support Councils, which Talabani says are an illegal security force.