The Financial Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s struggle to retain power as the insurgency in his country spreads:
But even Iran, patron of Iraq’s Shia community, has long been concerned about Mr Maliki’s continued rule.
“What the Iranians care about most of all is Shia unity, not Maliki,” said Ramzy Mardini, an Amman-based analyst at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank. “What has happened is that Shia are united and mobilising and Iran’s influence will deepen because of the crisis. They won’t ditch Maliki while the security situation is the way it is.”
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“Maliki is not just one man,” said Mr Mardini. “He embodies a regime and a security apparatus.”