Free Republic

BAGHDAD -- The elections last December in Iraq were a monumental stage in my country's history and a testament to the courage of its people, who refuse to bow to any dictator or terrorist. As the wheels of democracy have begun to turn in Iraq, the people's wishes are becoming clearer and their representatives identified. To this end I am humbled and honored to be chosen by my coalition to lead Iraq's first democratically elected full-term government. My government's first challenge will be to stifle the terrorism that has plagued our country and defiled the name of Islam. While we...

Kurdish and Sunni Arab political parties raised concerns about the future shape of the Iraqi government after the Shi'ite-led United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) nominated Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'fari on 12 February to retain his position in the incoming Iraqi government. His nomination has raised concerns among secular Shi'a as well, who have supported recent calls for the formation of a national unity government. Al-Ja'fari, who leads the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party, beat out Adil Abd al-Mahdi, a member of the Shi'ite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), in the internal UIA election by just one vote, 64 to...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2005 – Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari announced a security plan building on the progress his country has already made. Jafari spoke in Baghdad Aug 4 following visits to Iraqi security forces training facilities. The prime minister said through a translator that the security situation in the country is improving. Security forces are increasing in both quantity and quality, he said. "Today I was in Hillah, and I inspected new graduates, 750 newly graduated personnel," he said. "I witnessed their training and their performance, and I'm very content with this level. I am quite content with the...

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 6:47 a.m. EST Hillary Rebuked by Iraqi Leader New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has caused an international incident after she criticized Iraq's leading candidate to become prime minister as a result of last month's historic election, prompting a sharp rebuke. "Hillary Clinton, as far as I know, does not represent any political decision or the American administration, and I don't know why she said this," Dr. Ibrahim Jafari, who is expected to become prime minister, told the Times of London on Thursday. "She knows nothing about the Iraqi situation," he added. During an interview last Sunday,...

WASHINGTON - Senator Clinton has come under attack from Iraq's leading candidate for prime minister for questioning his ties to the theocratic regime of Iran.After a visit to Iraq last week, New York's junior senator said there were "grounds both for concern and for ... vigilance" regarding links between Dr. Ibrahim Jafari and Iran, where he spent a decade in exile. Dr. Jafari, the head of the religious Islamic Dawa Party, was nominated for the post of prime minister by a coalition of Shiite parties that dominated Iraq's January 30 elections. His selection fueled concerns that the new Iraqi government...

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 6:47 a.m. ESTHillary Rebuked by Iraqi Leader New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has caused an international incident after she criticized Iraq's leading candidate to become prime minister as a result of last month's historic election, prompting a sharp rebuke. "Hillary Clinton, as far as I know, does not represent any political decision or the American administration, and I don't know why she said this," Dr. Ibrahim Jafari, who is expected to become prime minister, told the Times of London on Thursday. "She knows nothing about the Iraqi situation," he added. During an interview last Sunday,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 15 - The race for the top job in Iraq's new government narrowed Tuesday to two leaders in the Shiite alliance, with Ibrahim Jafari of the Dawa Party squaring off against Ahmad Chalabi, who was mounting a last-minute stand against his rival. Dr. Jafari, a physician who spent more than 20 years in exile and is now a deputy president in the interim government, improved his chances on Tuesday when he persuaded another rival, Adil Abdul Mahdi, to withdraw from the race. Dr. Jafari's party, Dawa, and Mr. Mahdi's, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in...

LONDON, Aug 6 (AFP) - Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jafari implicitly criticised the United States on Friday, saying the reported deaths of 300 insurgents in Najaf was "not a civilised way" to rebuild his nation. "Of course, when I hear of the deaths of Iraqi civilians, I cannot find any justification for the killings," Jafari, on an official visit to London, told BBC television`s "Newsnight" programme. "So my reaction (to US claims of 300 insurgents killed in Najaf) is negative," he added. "I think that killing Iraqi citizens is not a civilised way of building the new Iraq, which...